Key points
- Orders vary, and their exact terms govern what contact is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice on any particular order.
- Where limited contact is allowed, often for co-parenting, the goal is to keep it minimal, factual, and recorded.
- Filtering hostility before it reaches the protected person reduces the daily harm of permitted contact.
- A continuous record helps if a breach is later alleged, by showing what was actually sent.
When a client is protected by an apprehended violence order or an intervention order, the safest position is usually no contact at all. But for some clients, particularly where there are children, the order permits limited communication for specific purposes. Those clients still have to receive messages from the other person, and that is where they need practical help.
Every order is different
Some orders prohibit all contact. Others carve out narrow exceptions, such as communication about parenting arranged through a lawyer or a specified channel. What a client may do is set by their order, not by any tool. The first step is always to be clear about what their particular order allows. Our general guide on communicating when there is an AVO or intervention order is written for clients in plain language.
When some contact is permitted
Where an order permits limited contact, the aim is to keep that contact as narrow as the order allows: factual, about the permitted subject only, and never escalating. The protected person should not have to absorb hostility in order to receive the one piece of information the contact is for. The same approach suits high-conflict co-parenting clients more generally.
Making permitted contact easier to manage
This is where a one-sided filter helps. With FenceChat, permitted contact can be routed to a FenceChat address or number rather than the client’s personal one. The language filter removes the hostility, so the client reads the facts. A message outside what the order permits can still be a breach even when it reads calmly once filtered, so check the originals. The other person does not need an account and does not control any of it. Your client keeps their real number and email private, which matters a great deal when the relationship is unsafe.
FenceChat’s own family violence policy sets out how we support customers affected by family violence, and our online safety page explains how anyone can report harmful material. If a message may breach the order, report it to police. In an emergency, call 000.
Why the record matters
If a breach is later alleged, the question is what was actually sent. A continuous, time-ordered archive of the permitted contact gives a complete record of exactly that, kept automatically rather than reconstructed later. It supports the client either way: it documents contact that crossed a line, and it shows when contact stayed within bounds. Our article on text messages and message archives as evidence covers this in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can a client use this if they have an AVO or intervention order?
Only within the terms of their specific order. The order governs what contact is permitted. Where limited contact is allowed, routing it through a filter can reduce harm and keep a record, but the order always comes first and safety is paramount.
Does the other person find out?
They send to a FenceChat email address or number instead of your client’s own, so they can see that has changed. By default, the first time they message, they also get a one-time notice that messages are processed by AI and stored by FenceChat. Where telling them could put your client at risk, your client can switch that notice off before sharing the new address or number. The terms of any order and your client’s safety always come first.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information to be read alongside proper legal advice. The terms of each order, and a client’s safety, decide what is appropriate.