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Our Sydney domestic violence lawyers have years of experience dealing with situations where a person is either accused of, or has been a victim of domestic violence.
Family relationships can be complex and challenging. Often emotions are high, particularly when children are involved. Getting the best representation in a domestic violence case is crucial to securing the best outcome for you and your family.
Our team has been rated amongst the leading domestic violence lawyers in Sydney and Parramatta, which is reflected by:
Contact us online or call us on (02) 7804 2823 to speak to our friendly team who are available 24/7.
Astor Legal are experts in criminal defence for domestic violence cases. Let us walk you through the process of a domestic violence case.
We can help you through a domestic violence charge by:
We have a high rate of getting domestic violence charges dropped using our unique strategies. Contact us on (02) 7804 2823 or online. We can arrange a conference with a specialist domestic violence lawyer will be able to set out a plan of how to defend your case and have the matter dismissed in the shortest time possible.
If you are found not guilty or the case is withdrawn, you may be able to apply for your legal costs to be paid by the prosecution.
Here are the elements involved in defending your case if you choose to plead guilty.
Burden of Proof: The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the offence and that you were in a domestic relationship with the complainant at the time of the incident.
Mini Brief of Evidence: At the first court appearance, you will receive a mini-brief of evidence, including:
Plea of Guilty or Not Guilty: If you plead guilty, the police will tender a Fact Sheet to the Magistrate. It’s important to review the Fact Sheet and discuss any disagreements with your lawyer. Negotiations may occur to amend the facts to reflect your version of events.
Further Evidence: Later, witness statements, police statements, and medical records will be served, at least 14 days before the final hearing date.
Hearing date: At the hearing date your lawyer will cross-examine witnesses, call evidence in support of your defence, object to evidence that is inadmissible and harms your defence and make submissions as to why you should be found not guilty and the charge dismissed.
The following defences to domestic violence offences apply:
Call us today on (02) 7804 2823 or email us at info@astorlegal.com.au to speak to our specialist domestic violence lawyers in Sydney.
The penalty for a domestic violence offence can range from a fine to a term of imprisonment. The type of penalty given will depend on the severity of the charge and the particular circumstances of the case.
Whether or not a person receives a conviction for a domestic violence offence will depend on how the case is presented before a Judge or Magistrate. These charges are set out in both the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.
If a person is convicted of domestic violence offences, then an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) will also be made against them. It is important to note that an ADVO is not a criminal conviction and does not leave a criminal record. If a person does not comply with the conditions of the order, then they may be charged with breach AVO. A conviction for this will result in a criminal record.
See the bottom of this page for our recent domestic violence cases and client reviews.
Domestic violence is defined as any offence committed by a person against a member of the family with whom the person shares or has shared a domestic relationship. This is contained in the Crimes (Personal and Domestic Violence) Act 2007.
It is also referred to in the Family Law Act 1975 where it is defined as a person threatening, acting violent, or engaging in any behaviour of similar nature against a member of the person’s family and thereby causing the family member to be fearful.
A domestic relationship includes:
The most common types of domestic violence are:
The type of charge laid depends on the alleged conduct. Domestic violence offences can occur without physical force if the victim feels threatened, with reasonable grounds for that fear.
Family violence is any violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family (the family member), or causes the family member to be fearful pursuant to Section 4AB (1) of the Family Law Act 1975.
In 2011, the definition of family violence set out in the Family Law Act 1975 was amended to include coercion and control. The definition of abuse was also amended to include the phrase, “serious psychological harm”.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, there are many community organisations and support services you can turn to for help. Call the domestic violence helpline at 1800RESPECT if you are in need of help, or alternatively refer to the NSW Domestic Violence Services Directory.
We take cases of domestic violence very seriously at Astor Legal, and are prepared to provide legal support to victims of domestic violence to help them get through the stressful process of court.
You can prove a domestic violence case by establishing each element of a domestic violence charge and rebutting any defences.
These elements must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, usually by police. Each type of domestic violence charge will have different elements which must be proven before a person can be found guilty. Our team has years of experience in dealing with these matters. Contact us now on (02) 7804 2823 or online to discuss how we can assist you.
When dealing with domestic violence charges, getting the best legal representation is paramount in securing the right outcome for your case. Put your trust in Astor Legal, led by Avinash Singh. As one of Australia’s top criminal lawyers and an Accredited Specialist, we have successfully defended many domestic violence cases and are experts in this area of the law.
With over ten years of experience and a track record of success, including representing elite sportspeople like Andrew Johns, Astor Legal who you want fighting for you. Contact Astor Legal today for expert AVO defence.
Domestic violence cases may be dismissed if the alleged victim doesn’t cooperate, there is insufficient evidence, or the victim has made false allegations in the past.
The starting rate for a domestic violence lawyer is $2200 (including GST). The cost may increase depending on factors such as the court location, number of court dates, and whether you plead guilty or not. At Astor legal we are completely transparent with our fees.
A first-time domestic violence charge carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court, but offenders with no prior record are more likely to receive a Section 10 dismissal. Despite this, many first-time offenders are still convicted, highlighting the importance of contacting an experienced criminal lawyer to improve your chances of a favorable outcome.
If you are the victim in a domestic violence case, you do not need to have your own lawyer – the police will help you along the process if you need to give evidence at court. If you are the defendant, it is highly advisable to get a criminal defence lawyer to get the best outcome.
NSW Police now use ‘Domestic Violence Evidence Kits’ (DVEC), which include video cameras, digital cameras, and voice recorders to document statements from alleged victims. These recorded statements can be used as evidence in court, often providing compelling support for the case. The alleged victim will still need to attend court.
A victim of domestic violence can contact the defendant. However, the defendant may not be able to respond if they are subject to an AVO or strict bail conditions. Because of this, if you are a victim of domestic violence, you should speak to an experienced family violence lawyer before contacting the defendant.
The latest release by the Australian Bureau of statistics on partner violence found that 17% of Australian women and 5.5% of men have experienced partner violence, and 13% of women and 14% of men have experienced partner emotional abuse.
The client came to us charged with Common Assault (DV), Destroy/Damage Property (DV) and Resist Arrest.
Once the police brief was served on us it became apparent that there were a number of issues with the police case from the matters conception.
Police had failed to comply with their obligations during arrest. The police also didn’t have enough evidence to prove that a common assault had occurred at all, or that anyone saw our client damage the property as alleged.
The matter ran to a hearing, and after one adjournment and two failed attempts for police to bring all of their witnesses to court, the police weren’t able to lead evidence on the common assault and destroy/damage property without their witnesses.
Despite the lack of evidence and compliance with their obligations, the police wanted to proceed on the resist arrest. Our lawyer spoke with the prosecutor and they agreed to withdraw all of the charges.
Our client could not have been happier with the advice we provided and the forensic decisions we made during the matter.
Last week Astor Legal appeared at Sydney District Court on behalf of a client charged with a number of domestic violence charges.
Originally he had been charged with Intentionally Choke, Common Assault, Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Stalk/Intimidate. In total there were six charges.
We entered pleas of ‘not guilty’ to four of the six charges and pleaded guilty on disputed facts to the remaining two charges.
After extensive cross-examination of the complainant, our client was found ‘not guilty’ of the four domestic violence charges. You can read about that case by clicking here.
The remaining two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault proceeded to Sydney District Court on a severity appeal.
We undertook a significant amount of preparation for the appeal.
This included arranging for our client to undergo extensive psychological counselling. We also obtained letters from his employer and work colleagues setting out that a conviction may result in a loss of job.
We appeared at Downing Centre Court for the appeal and made lengthy submissions in support of no conviction being recorded. Despite the prosecutor strongly opposing this, we were able to rebut their submissions.
Ultimately, the Judge was persuaded by our submissions and sentenced our client to a conditional release order without conviction for 12 months. Our client was ecstatic with the result.
Our client is a 32-year-old man from America living with his husband in Australia. Police were called to their house after a complaint was made by their neighbours who suspected a domestic incident.
Our client and his partner explained to police that our client had recently had major surgery following a motor vehicle accident and that they did not want police intervention. Despite this, officers applied for an apprehended violence order (AVO) against our client.
Our client came to us extremely upset at the situation and stressed with the thought of proceedings against him.
We immediately got to work advising him of the process of AVO proceedings and drafted lengthy representations for the withdrawal of the AVO. Because our client had instructed us early on, we were able to file representations prior to the first court date.
The case was listed at Manly Local Court where police sought an adjournment to determine our representations for the withdrawal of the AVO.
Ultimately, Police were persuaded through our negotiations to withdraw the AVO early in the proceedings.
Our client and his husband were overjoyed, and can now live their lives without concerns of an AVO affecting their future.
Our client was a 47-year-old senior financial analyst working for one of the ‘big four’ banks. He had been married to his wife for over fifteen years and the pair had two children together.
Ten years ago our client pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges which were dealt with by way of a Section 10 dismissal.
Shortly afterwards he had a drive while suspended charge dismissed pursuant to Section 10.
He came to us after being charged with a common assault domestic violence offence. There had been a build-up of issues between the pair during the lockdown. Eventually, one of their heated verbal arguments turned physical and police were called.
When police arrived, he was questioned and made admissions to the offence. In addition to being charged, police applied for an AVO.
Following the incident our client’s wife asked police to withdraw the charge and AVO, however, our client’s admissions meant that this was refused.
He came to us after speaking to other lawyers who had told him he had no prospect of avoiding a conviction given his record. We took a different view.
We immediately got to work by arranging for him to start seeing a forensic psychologist. He was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder. One of the symptoms of the disorder was an inability to control his impulsiveness.
We also obtained character references from his employer which confirmed he needed to be conviction free in order to maintain his role.
We appeared at Blacktown Local Court we made submissions in support of a Section 14 Mental Health Application. Despite the numerous previous charges on his record, the Court was ultimately persuaded to grant the application.
As a result, our client remains conviction free. Both he and his wife were overjoyed with the outcome.
Recently Astor Legal appeared at Downing Centre Local Court in relation to a client charged with a number of domestic violence charges including Intentionally Choke, Common Assault, Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Stalk/Intimidate.
Police alleged that our client had become engaged in a heated argument with his wife in the kitchen. This argument then moved to the bedroom of their 8-year-old daughter. It was alleged that while their daughter was present, our client had slapped his wife in the face before throwing a fan at her.
The prosecution claimed that our client had then choked his wife for a number of seconds, leaving her unable to breathe. It was alleged that his wife then ran out of the apartment and to the front of the building where she called Police and waited for them to arrive.
Our client contacted us after his arrest by Police. He was bail refused and brought before Waverley Local Court for a bail application. We appeared for him and despite strenuous objections by the prosecutor, we were able to have our client released on bail.
We then got to work preparing his defence.
We obtained CCTV footage from the apartment complex which showed that the complainant had not ran from the apartment, but rather walked at a leisurely pace. We were also able to obtain the 000 recording of her phone call to Police where she gave a version that was significantly different to what she told the Police officers who arrived on the scene.
At the hearing we were able to cross-examine her at length about these inconsistencies. Further inconsistencies in her version were revealed during our cross-examination.
Ultimately, the Magistrate could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt on each of the allegations and our client was found ‘not guilty’.
Our client is a 35-year-old father living in Zetland with his pregnant wife and 7-year-old child.
He had recently completed a university degree in project management and was searching for work.
Prior to finding a job he was charged with stalk/intimidate and destroy/damage property over an incident in the family home. Police alleged that our client had threatened to drag his wife out of the home. He had also kicked a door and caused significant damage to it.
He initially went to another criminal law firm but grew frustrated with their lack of results after spending a significant sum of money.
He came to us desperate to avoid a conviction.
We immediately got to work preparing the case. First, we enrolled our client with a psychologist for anger management counselling.
Next, we obtained letters from other in the project management industry detailing the impact a conviction would have on his prospects of gaining employment. We also had our client repair the door at his own expense.
We attended Downing Centre Local Court with our client. Despite initially facing significant resistance from the Magistrate, we were able to persuade Her Honour to not record a conviction.
Our client was extremely grateful and has since obtained employment as a project manager for a large multi-national firm.
Our client is a well-known media personality who is also a board member of a domestic violence charity.
He was on holiday with his wife and two children in the NSW South Coast when an incident occurred between himself and his wife.
Police were called to the scene. When they arrived they video recorded a statement with his wife. This is known as a Domestic Violence Evidence in Chief (DVEC).
Despite our client protesting his innocence, officers applied for an apprehended violence order (AVO) against him.
Our client came to us distressed at what had occurred and also concerned about the possibility of media attention.
We immediately go to work in preparing lengthy and detailed legal representations for the withdrawal of the AVO.
Ultimately, after significant negotiation with Police we were able to persuade them to withdraw the AVO early in proceedings.
This saved our client significant time and expense. Both he and his family can move on with their lives without the AVO hanging over their heads.
Our team recently appeared at Mount Druitt Local Court for a defended Hearing on domestic violence charges.
Our client was an elderly businessman who was facing two sets of domestic violence charges. The first set of charges involved using a carriage service to menace. The second set of charges included common assault and contravene AVO. ⠀
The Police case consisted of the complainant and a witness, as well as extensive telephone records. Police had obtained video recorded statements from our client’s wife and son. They had also obtained phone records of both our client’s phone and his wife’s phone.
Our client had also participated in an interview and stated that he had no memory of the incident. The complainant later told Police that she did not want the charges to proceed, but Police ignored her. ⠀
Despite this, we were able to beat all of the charges. The prosecution in fact withdrew the use carriage service to menace charges mid-way through the Hearing, and the remaining charges were dismissed at the end of the Hearing. ⠀
In the result, our client was able to walk free from Court and spent the New Year with his grateful family.⠀
Our client is a 28-year-old woman who came to Australia from Tanzania on a partner visa.
She had been with her partner for 5 years and the pair had been married for the last 3 years.
Police had alleged that one evening, while she was at home with her partner she had stabbed him twice with a large, serrated knife. The complainant phoned ‘000’ and Police attended a short time later.
The officers gave evidence in Court that our client was severely intoxicated when they arrived. They also said that they observed the alleged victim with a significant wound that was still bleeding and transported him to St Vincent’s Hospital.
The the complainant spoke to the on-call doctor and received treatment and the wound was bandaged.
Police charged our client with ‘Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm‘. If found guilty the maximum penalty for this offence is 5 years imprisonment.
Our client also participated in an interview with Police where she made damning admissions, including, “I did wrong to cut his hand, I admit that. I’m fine to get some punishment”.
Despite this, our team of assault lawyers meticulously prepared the case and set out a detailed cross-examination of the alleged victim.
Our lawyers were able to cross-examine the complainant at length about inconsistencies in his version of events. We also raised his level of intoxication at the time of the incident.
Ultimately, after a two day Hearing, the Magistrate was persuaded to dismiss the charge. Due to the strength of our defence, Police also withdrew the Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) they had taken out against our client.
After being subjected to onerous bail and AVO conditions for almost a year, our client can finally have some peace of mind.
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