What makes a charge a "domestic violence offence"?
Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW): a domestic violence offence is a personal violence offence — assault, stalking, intimidation, property damage and others — committed against a person with whom the offender has or had a domestic relationship. Since 2018, DV offences are recorded as such on the criminal record.
Domestic violence is not a separate crime in NSW. It is a label the law attaches to ordinary offences when they occur within a domestic relationship — partners and former partners, family members, household members and carers. The underlying charge might be common assault, intimidation or property damage; the DV label changes how it is policed, bailed, prosecuted and recorded.
The practical differences are real. Police apply a pro-charge, pro-AVO policy in domestic settings. Body-worn camera footage is taken at the door and can later stand in for a complainant's evidence. Bail conditions routinely exclude people from their own homes. And a conviction is permanently flagged as a domestic violence offence on the record. These matters are not "just a domestic" — they are criminal prosecutions run with unusual machinery, and they need to be defended accordingly.
Domestic & family violence matters we defend
Coercive Control
NSW's newest DV offence — a course of abusive conduct against an intimate partner. New law, untested boundaries, and charges that turn on patterns rather than incidents.
Stalking & Intimidation
The s 13 offence — conduct intended to cause fear, including texts, calls and online contact. The charge most often laid alongside an AVO application.
Common Assault (DV)
The most common DV charge — no injury required. How the domestic context changes policing, bail and sentencing of an otherwise familiar offence.
Breach of AVO
Contravening an order is a criminal offence carrying up to 2 years — even where the protected person invited the contact.
Choking & Strangulation
A charge treated with particular seriousness by NSW courts, with tiered offences and real custody exposure. Precise medical and factual analysis matters here.
Destroy or Damage Property
Damaging property — including jointly owned property — in a domestic context is charged as a DV offence, with all the consequences that label carries.
Threats & Causing Fear
Charges built on words: threats to harm, and conduct causing fear of violence. What was actually said, and how it is proved, is usually the whole case.
Child-Related DV Matters
Allegations involving children in the household — where the criminal matter, the AVO and family law intersect and must be managed together.
The AVO is half the picture
Almost every DV charge in NSW arrives with an AVO application attached — and the order often matters as much as the charge. An AVO can exclude you from your home, restrict contact with your children and affect firearms licences and some employment, even though it is not a conviction. The charge and the order are decided on different standards of proof and need a single, coordinated strategy.
AVOs & Protection Orders — how they work, and how we respond →Will this be on my record? Court records, police checks and disclosure
The question people ask most — often before they ask about the penalty — is who will know. The honest answer has several parts.
Court proceedings are generally open. NSW Local Court lists and hearings are public, though there is no searchable public database of DV defendants, and the media rarely report routine Local Court matters. AVO proceedings involving children carry publication restrictions.
A conviction is recorded — and flagged. Since 2018, a conviction for a domestic violence offence is marked as such on the criminal record, and it appears on a National Police Check like any other conviction. Employers running checks will see it.
Outcomes short of conviction are treated differently. A charge that is withdrawn or dismissed leaves no conviction. A matter dealt with by non-conviction order is generally not disclosed on a standard police check once finalised. An AVO made without any criminal conviction does not appear on a standard check at all — it is a civil order, not a criminal one. Some convictions become spent after a crime-free period, though serious sentences never do, and certain occupations require disclosure regardless.
The disclosure consequences turn almost entirely on the outcome — which is the strongest practical reason to take the defence of these matters seriously from day one. Every matter turns on its own facts.
"She'll withdraw it" — the reality about complainant withdrawal
The most common assumption in this area is that the complainant controls the prosecution — that if the relationship repairs, the charge goes away. In NSW, it does not work that way. Domestic violence charges are prosecuted by police, and police policy in DV matters is to proceed wherever the evidence allows, even against the complainant's wishes. Body-worn footage, photographs, recorded triple-zero calls and statements taken on the night are gathered precisely so the case does not depend on the complainant coming to court.
A complainant's wish to withdraw is a factor the prosecution weighs — sometimes a significant one — but it is not a decision. Matters proceed every week over the objection of the person they are notionally protecting. Waiting for a withdrawal instead of preparing a defence is the most expensive mistake made in this jurisdiction. Prepare as though the matter will run; treat any withdrawal as a bonus.
How Lenz Legal approaches domestic violence matters
These matters are tangled by design: a criminal charge, an AVO, bail conditions, sometimes family law proceedings — all moving at once, all affecting each other. The approach is to take control of the whole picture early: stabilise the bail and accommodation position, test the evidence properly (footage, injuries, inconsistencies, context the on-the-night account omits), deal with the AVO strategically rather than reflexively, and keep the long-term record consequences in view at every decision point.
If police have charged you, served an AVO, or asked you to attend an interview, get advice first. What is said at the door and in the interview room is where these cases are most often decided.
Domestic violence charges — your questions answered
Are domestic violence charges public record?
Court proceedings are generally open, and a DV conviction is recorded and flagged on your criminal record. But there is no searchable public register of DV defendants, AVOs are not convictions, and what appears on a police check depends on the outcome — a dismissal or non-conviction order is treated very differently from a conviction.
Can the complainant withdraw the charge?
Not directly. Police prosecute DV charges and frequently proceed regardless of the complainant's wishes, relying on footage and statements gathered on the night. A withdrawal request is a factor, not a decision — prepare the defence as though the matter will run.
What is the difference between a DV charge and an AVO?
A DV charge is a criminal allegation that can end in conviction and penalty. An AVO is a protective civil order — not a conviction, but breaching it is a crime. They usually arrive together, are decided on different standards of proof, and need one coordinated strategy.
Does a DV conviction show on a police check?
Yes — and since 2018 it is flagged as a DV offence. A non-conviction order is generally not disclosed on a standard check once finalised, and an AVO without a conviction does not appear at all. Some convictions become spent over time; serious sentences never do.