Lawassist - Responding to an application for an apprehended violence order - Avo

Hi. My case is being heard in court today. -Your name, please? -Simpson. Paul. Simpson. Level 1, courtroom number 6, just up the stairs. -Up that way? -Yeah. Thank you. OK, what happened was, this neighbour of mine, he was being a real... Just... Let's just say that we'd had problems for years. Then last month, things got heated, words were exchanged, and the next thing I know, the police are telling me he's asking for an AVO. Anyway, the application had the number for LawAccess on it, so I phoned them to ask them whether I had to go to court. Certainly we can assist... PAUL: And what would happen if I didn't. They told me it was a good idea to attend. They said there are different types of AVOs and that I should find out what options I had. You can read about the different orders in an AVO and what your options are on the LawAssist website. The standard orders cover things like not harassing or assaulting the person, things like that. But the other person might ask for other orders, like not contacting them or not going near their home. The orders they want will be written in their application. Court's open, everyone. Please come in. PAUL: LawAccess referred me to a lawyer. The lawyer I spoke to told me that things are different from court to court, and that at some courts the police might ask you what you want to do about the AVO, and at other courts it might be a court officer who asks you. This is before the magistrate arrives. They try to sort out what should happen. -Do you have a case in court today? -Yes. -And what's your name? -Paul Simpson. Are you a defendant in an application for an Apprehended Personal Violence Order? Yes, yes, I am. What do you intend to do? I received legal advice, and I'm going to consent to the AVO without admissions. OK. PAUL: Luckily, the lawyer I spoke to explained to me what the orders in the AVO meant and what my options were. They range from simple to complicated, depending on how much you want to argue about. Your first instinct is to argue. But on the other hand, I don't want this dispute to dominate my life, never mind the rest of my day. So I decided to consent to the AVO without admissions. The lawyer said it would be a matter of court record that there were no findings against me, legal language meaning that I wouldn't have a criminal record or anything.