Apprehended violence orders in NSW
AVOs and firearms licences
An AVO takes your firearms licence away automatically, and it keeps you off the register for ten years afterwards. There is one way to undo that, and it only works while the order is still in force.
The short version
What an AVO does to a licence
None of it is discretionary and none of it requires a conviction. An AVO is a civil order, but the licensing consequences follow the moment the order is made, whether it was contested and lost, consented to without admissions, or made because a plea of guilty to a serious offence obliged the court to make one.
| What has happened | Your licence | Your firearms |
|---|---|---|
| An interim AVO is made | Automatically suspended until the order is confirmed or revoked | Must be surrendered to police, and police can seize them |
| A final AVO is made | Automatically revoked | Remain with police, and the licence card must be surrendered too |
| The order is in force | No new licence or permit can be issued | Possession without a licence is a criminal offence |
| The order has ended | No new licence for ten years from the application date, unless the order was revoked | Police continue to hold anything surrendered |
The one thing that matters most
The ten year bar does not apply to an order that has been revoked. Revocation is the only thing that lifts it. Serving out the order does not, good behaviour afterwards does not, and no tribunal can waive it.
An AVO can only be revoked while it is still in force. Once it expires there is no order left to revoke, and the ten years runs its full course. Anyone whose licence matters to them needs to be dealing with this before the expiry date, not after it.
The licence cannot be the reason for the application, though. The power to revoke exists to protect people, and an order is not to be revoked for the substantial purpose of relieving a defendant of the licensing consequences. The application has to stand on whether protection is still needed. Getting the licence back is what follows if it does.
Immediately
Surrender and seizure
Once a licence is suspended or revoked, every firearm in your possession and the licence itself must be surrendered to a police officer immediately. Police are also authorised to seize them. Failing to surrender is an offence carrying a substantial fine, imprisonment, or both, and it is one of the more common ways a defendant turns a civil order into a criminal charge.
- Immediately means immediately. Not at the end of the season, not once the shed is sorted out, and not after you have spoken to the club.
- Storing them with someone else is not a solution unless that person is properly licensed and the transfer is done through the correct process.
- Possession without a licence is a serious offence in its own right, and the penalties are heavier for pistols and prohibited firearms.
- Prohibited weapons permits work the same way. An interim order suspends the permit and a final order revokes it.
If police have already taken your firearms, ask about their status early. Where firearms are held for an extended period there are processes for disposal, and it is better to make a decision about them than to have one made for you.
The bar
How the ten years actually works
A licence must not be issued to anyone who is currently subject to an AVO or an interim AVO, or who has been subject to a final AVO at any time in the ten years before the application was made, unless that order has been revoked. The period is measured backwards from the day you apply, which in practice means ten years from the day the order ended rather than the day it was made.
- It is a mandatory ground. The Commissioner has no discretion to issue the licence anyway, however good the reason for wanting one.
- Personal violence orders count. The bar is not limited to domestic orders. An APVO taken out by a neighbour or a former business partner has the same effect.
- Consenting without admissions counts. The order is still an order. This is the single most common way people are caught out, because the order is agreed to on the assumption that it costs nothing.
- Interstate orders can count where they are recognised for this purpose.
- Revocation removes it entirely. A revoked order is expressly carved out of the ten year rule.
Before you consent
If you hold a licence, or your work depends on one, that has to be on the table before any order is consented to. Sometimes the answer is still to consent, because the cost of a contested hearing outweighs the licence. Sometimes it changes the strategy entirely. Either way it should be a decision, not a discovery made afterwards. See defending an AVO.
Getting back on the register
What you have to do to hold a licence again
Check the expiry date first
Everything below depends on the order still being in force. If it has already expired, revocation is not available and the remaining option is to wait out the ten years. Find the date before you do anything else.
Apply to revoke the order
Filed at a Local Court. The court has to be satisfied that revoking the order is proper in all the circumstances, which means evidence of changed circumstances, compliance and the absence of any continuing need for protection. The grounds have to be built on that, not on the licence. See varying or revoking an AVO.
Allow for the listing
Contested applications are adjourned for statements and then listed for hearing, which takes months. If the order will expire before it is heard, the order itself needs to be extended so that there is still something for the court to revoke.
Apply for a new licence
Revocation does not hand the old licence back. It removes the mandatory bar. You then make a fresh application, and the usual requirements apply, including a genuine reason, storage, and safety training if you have never held one.
Satisfy the fit and proper test
The Commissioner still has to be satisfied that you are a fit and proper person who can be trusted with firearms, and can refuse where your domestic circumstances or way of living suggest otherwise. The history that produced the order does not vanish because the order did.
Deal with the firearms themselves
Anything surrendered or seized stays with police until the position is resolved. Sort out what is being kept, sold or disposed of rather than leaving it open.
Review rights
Can you appeal the decision
Firearms decisions generally carry a right of internal review by the Firearms Registry, made in writing within 28 days, followed by administrative review in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The limits worth knowing
Review does not help against a revocation based on an AVO. The revocation is automatic and there is no decision to review. Nor does review assist against a refusal on a mandatory ground, because the tribunal is in the same position as the Commissioner and cannot issue a licence the Act says must not be issued.
The remedy in both cases is the order, not the licence. That is why the work has to be done in the Local Court while the AVO is still on foot.
Where a licence has been refused or revoked on discretionary grounds, such as fitness or public interest, review is meaningful and the time limits are short. Get advice quickly rather than at the end of the 28 days.
Beyond firearms
Work and other consequences
Security industry work
A security licence turns on whether the applicant is a fit and proper person, and an AVO is relevant to that assessment even though it is not an automatic disqualification. Where the role requires a firearm, the firearms licence position decides the question on its own.
Police, corrections and defence roles
Employers in these fields ask about AVOs directly and many roles cannot be performed without a firearms authority. An order that seems containable at home can end a career.
Primary producers and rural work
Where a licence is held for stock management or vermin control, losing it affects the operation of the property. It is a genuine ground to put before the court on a revocation application, although it does not decide it.
Clubs and competition
Membership requirements generally depend on a current licence, and participation ends with the licence rather than with the order.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
I consented to the AVO without admissions. Does the firearms bar still apply?
Yes. The consequences follow the making of the order, not the way it was made and not any finding about what happened. An order consented to without admissions has exactly the same effect on a licence as one made after a contested hearing.
My AVO expired years ago. Can I have it revoked now so I can apply?
No. Once an order has ended there is nothing left to revoke. The ten year period runs its course from the date you apply for the licence looking back, so the practical answer is when the ten years has passed.
Does an interim AVO start the ten years?
An interim order suspends a licence while it is in force, and no new licence can be issued while you are subject to one. The ten year look back attaches to final orders. If the interim order is not confirmed and no final order is made, the ten year bar does not begin.
Can I keep my firearms at a relative’s place instead of surrendering them?
Not as a workaround. Firearms must be surrendered to police when the licence is suspended or revoked, and having them anywhere in your possession or control is an offence. Any transfer to another person has to go through the proper process and that person has to be licensed for the category.
The protected person supports my application to revoke. Is that enough?
It helps and it is often decisive in practice, but the court decides whether revocation is proper in all the circumstances and will consider whether the position is freely held. Police frequently oppose revocation applications where the order was police initiated.
Will I get my old licence back if the order is revoked?
No. Revocation lifts the mandatory bar. You then apply for a new licence and have to meet every requirement, including satisfying the Commissioner that you are a fit and proper person.
Does an APVO count, or only a domestic order?
Both. The restriction applies to apprehended violence orders generally, so an order obtained by a neighbour, a co-worker or a former business associate affects a licence the same way a domestic order does.
What if the AVO was made in another state?
Domestic violence orders made elsewhere in Australia are recognised in New South Wales, and orders from other places can be caught where they are prescribed for this purpose. If you hold or want a NSW licence and there is an order against you anywhere, treat it as relevant until you have advice that it is not.
Before the order expires
Talk to us while there is still something to work with
If you hold a firearms licence and an AVO application has been made against you, the licence needs to be part of the strategy from the first mention, not an afterthought once an order is in place. If an order has already been made and it is still in force, there is a window to deal with it. Send us a copy of the order and we will tell you what can be done and what it will take.
Alicia Catron 0407 171 626 or Michelle Simmons 0407 534 594. We act in AVO matters in Local Courts across New South Wales. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and contactable outside those hours.