sorry I am a bit confused by the last sentence.... Child is 'now in care of mother n step dad' is this a new step dad? or the bloke you want to take the AVO on???

Cops have been spoken to about the alleged abuse? TRUE? They refused an AVO and they refused to lay charges? They are the police right? It is their job to solve crimes, charge baddies etc... So if they have interviewed the child and have deemed that there is no criminal activity.

Not gonna like this bit.. Getting an AVO is pretty easy. They are a common tool used in family law to stop one parent getting to see the kids. So to answer your question... Given you've already gone to the police and they have refused to take an avo out on your behalf, the answer is YES you can apply for an order for the police to make an application for an AVO. But if they refuse.. What next? There is a risk in continuing to claim abuse when there is no solid evidence... IT can appear like you're making up stuff to sopt one parent from spending time with a child...

Edited by emca01 - 15/October/2017 at 10:23

And to answer your question , no, dad gave child back to mum so he isn't looking at taking full time custody as mum is not the issue although he suspects that she is possibly a victim of domestic violence herself in her relationship.

Just to add a bit of clarity. At the time , dad contacted another police station who looked at the file and they said they would have taken out an AVO but they can't due to it already been managed by his local depot.   

Problem is like you said, everyone always suspects it to be a child custody issue when it's not the case . Police are always reluctant that one parent is teaching the child, I get that. But don't u think that it's better to be safe then sorry ??