Order 6 in apprehended domestic violence orders

Help us improve how Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) interact with parenting arrangements.

An ADVO condition known as Order 6 stops a defendant from contacting a protected person, except where the contact is ‘about contact with …children.’ Order 6 is one of a series of optional ADVO conditions that can be imposed on a defendant under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Regulation 2019.

Stakeholders have told us that Order 6 as it currently operates may create serious risks to the safety of women and children.

The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) has broadly identified some possible improvements to Order 6 and other optional related orders further detailed in the Discussion Paper.

Changes to Order 6 could achieve a range of improvements including:

giving parents subject to ADVOs greater certainty about the limits of permissible conduct when negotiating arrangements for their children
promoting greater compliance with orders and improve reporting and monitoring of breaches
assisting the Court to scrutinise the level of risk involved in allowing limited and specified communication by the defendant with the protected person to facilitate time with their children.

Tell us what you think

We want to find out what kinds of change might be most useful and effective.

Have your say by uploading a submission until Friday 14 March 2025.

Your feedback will inform DCJ’s decisions about improvement options to be progressed.

Upload a submission

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Need support?

If this survey raises any distress for you about your experiences of domestic and family violence, we encourage you to stop the survey and seek support. There are a number of services that can provide you with immediate support:

1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a confidential information, counselling, and support service open 24 hours to support people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse
The NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 656 463) provides 24-hour counselling and referrals to women experiencing domestic and family violence
13YARN (13 92 76) provides 24-hour culturally safe crisis support to yarn about needs, worries or concerns.
MensLine Australia (1300 789 978) provides 24-hour counselling support for men on a number of concerns, including experiences of domestic and family violence

If you or your children are in immediate danger, call Emergency Triple Zero 000.

DCJ is running concurrent targeted consultation for victim-survivors who have experience managing Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders and parenting.

Timeline

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Open and listening

Consultation open until 14 March 2025.
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Under review

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Progress next steps

Your feedback will inform our recommendations to improve how ADVOs interact with parenting arrangements.

Who's listening

Domestic and Family Violence Law and Policy team

NSW Government

Email: dfvlawpolicy@dcj.nsw.gov.au

Frequently Asked Questions

Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) are civil orders usually made in the Local Court of New South Wales (NSW) (the Court). They aim to protect victim-survivors from the risk of domestic and family violence (DFV) by imposing restrictions on perpetrators’ conduct. Victim-survivors may apply to the Court for an ADVO or the NSW Police Force (Police) may apply on their behalf. Police can also issue short-term ‘provisional’ ADVOs themselves, as can ‘authorised officers’ (usually court registrars or other senior court staff).

The law governing ADVOs in NSW is the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) (the Act). The Act’s objectives are to:

a) ensure the safety and protection of all people, including children, who experience or witness DFV;

b) reduce and prevent violence by a person against another person where a domestic relationship exists between those persons;

c) enact provisions consistent with certain principles underlying the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; and

d) enact provisions consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Ryde Local Court (2005) 62 NSWLR 512, the then Chief Justice Spigelman summarised the purpose of the apprehended violence order scheme as follows:

The legislative scheme for apprehended violence orders serves a range of purposes which are quite distinct from the traditional criminal or quasi-criminal jurisdiction of the Local Court. The legislative scheme is directed to the protection of the community in a direct and immediate sense, rather than through mechanisms such as deterrence. … Apprehended Violence Orders constitute the primary means in this State of asserting the fundamental right to freedom from fear.

The Court may impose prohibitions or restrictions on the person subject to the ADVO (the defendant) that ‘appear necessary or desirable,’ and where they are ‘necessary for the safety and protection of the protected person, and any child directly or indirectly affected by the conduct of the defendant’.

In practice, the Court usually selects one or more of 11 restrictions listed in the ADVO application form, prescribed in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Regulation 2019 (NSW) (the Regulation).

Senior Police officers and authorised officers may issue provisional ADVOs. Unlike the Court, Police and authorised officers can only impose one or more of the first 10 specific restrictions listed in the ADVO application form. To do this, the Police or authorised officer must be satisfied there are reasonable grounds for doing so. The Court then confirms which of these restrictions are to be included on making the ADVO.

Breach of an ADVO prohibition or restriction is a criminal offence that attracts a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment or a ‭$5,500 fine‬, or both. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

All ADVOs must include Order 1, prohibiting the defendant from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating the protected person or a person with whom the protected person has a domestic relationship (for example, children), or destroying or damaging certain property, or harming certain animals.

The remaining orders, which are optional, impose restrictions such as prohibiting the defendant from contacting the protected person or restricting where the defendant can go or live. Order 11, a ‘free text’ condition, is not available for provisional orders, but is designed to provide flexibility for the Court to impose any other ‘necessary or desirable’ prohibition or restriction required for interim or final orders.

Order 6 is one of the additional orders set out in the ADVO application form. The Court may impose Order 6 when it considers, as a threshold issue, that contact should continue between the defendant and children. Order 6 states:

Orders about family law and parenting

Order 6: The defendant must not approach or contact the protected person(s) in any way, unless contact is—

□ (a) through a lawyer, or

□ (b) to attend accredited or court-approved counselling, mediation and/or conciliation, or

□ (c) ordered by this court or another court about contact with the child/children, or

□ (d) as agreed in writing between the defendant and the parent(s) about contact with the child/children, or

□ (e) as agreed in writing between the defendant, the parent(s) and the person with parental responsibility for the child/children about contact with the child/children.

Note—Order 6(e) is an alternative to order 6(d).

Order 6 enables the Court to limit the defendant’s contact with the protected person while also allowing the defendant to spend time with the children. The types of circumstances set out in Order 6 attempt to reflect family law arrangements, including those that relate to parenting. For example:

Order 6(c) allows the defendant to approach or contact the protected person if this is permitted under a court order.

Order 6(d) allows the defendant to contact or approach the protected person where there is a written agreement (instead of a court order) about contact with children.

Order 6(e) covers circumstances where a person other than a parent, such as a grandparent, has parental responsibility for children and is involved in making decisions about their care and contact arrangements.

In imposing a restriction under Order 6, the Court, Police or authorised officer balances the need to protect the protected person from harm with the need to support children to maintain a relationship with the defendant through contact if it is safe to do so. This balance involves an assessment of risk based on the evidence available at the time.

Discussion paper

Ways to improve Order 6 - Discussion Paper
PDF (659.09 KB)

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Privacy collection notice for Order 6 in Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders

Why are we collecting your personal information?

The Department of Customer Service is collecting your personal information through this ‘Have your say’ consultation for submissions, which is being administered by the Department of Customer Service on behalf of the Department of Communities and Justice.

The purpose of the collection is to:

gather feedback on potential changes to conditions which may be imposed under an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) in relation to contacting a protected person when managing parenting arrangements; and
help develop a policy or plan to enable safe contact between the protected person and the defendant of an ADVO when managing parenting arrangements for their children.

What personal information do we collect?

We will collect the following information from you:

Contact name
Contact email address
Views about, and/or experience with, managing parenting arrangements for children while an ADVO is in force

How will we use and disclose this information?

We will disclose your views and personal information (if any is collected) with the Department of Communities and Justice for that Department to:

gather feedback on potential changes to conditions which may be imposed under an ADVO in relation to contacting a protected person when managing parenting arrangements; and
help develop a policy or plan to enable safe contact between the protected person and the defendant of an ADVO when managing parenting arrangements for their children.

We will not disclose your personal information (if any is collected) to third parties for any purposes not already stated in this privacy collection notice, or to which you have not otherwise consented, unless we are required or authorised, by law to do so.

Are you required by law to provide us with this information?

This ‘Have your say’ consultation for submissions is voluntary.

Providing us with the requested information is not required by law. However, if you choose not to provide us with the requested information, we may not be able to collect your feedback on the matters in the submission.

Further information

You have a legal right to access and update your personal information. For more information about how you can access or amend your personal information, please contact us by calling 13 77 88 or by emailing privacy@service.nsw.gov.au

Also please see the NSW Government’s website privacy statement.

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Order 6 in Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders

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Domestic and Family Violence Law and Policy team

NSW Government

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