The Former Police Residence, Avoca, built in 1859, is part of a larger justice precinct designed by the Public Works Department and includes the court house (1859), powder magazine (1860) and lock-up (1867). The original single storey residence consisting of four rooms is constructed of red brick with a hipped slate roof and a return verandah also roofed in slate. The building was remodeled and extended in 1902 however the timber additions have since been demolished, as has a two stall stables building.

The building, together with the other buildings in the precinct, played a significant role in Avoca's past and has a close association with the area's gold mining history. The Police Residence is important for its ability to reflect Avoca's former status as the administrative capital of the surrounding gold mining areas, and the police presence on goldfields generally. The Former Police Residence is architecturally significant as one of the earliest examples of police buildings erected throughout Victoria in the mid nineteenth century. The simple detailing and lack of ornament are important features as they reflect the building's utilitarian function and demonstrate an important period in the development of the Public Works Department.

The magazine, which was designed to exclude all flammable materials and protect the stored materials from weather and dampness, is a rectangular brick building with a deeply overhung gabled slate roof. The building has a small porch in the centre of one facade, narrow ventilation slits and unusual diagonal corner buttresses. The internal ceiling is a brick barrel vault constructed to minimise damage to surrounding areas in the case of explosion. The Powder Magazine, Avoca, is historically significant for its early date of construction and is architecturally significant as an example of a comparatively rare building type, strongly associated with the gold mining district settlements. The characteristics of the building such as its simple form and vernacular style are important for demonstrating contemporary engineering structure design practice.

The Avoca Lockup was built in coursed bluestone with a gabled slate roof; the symmetrical structure has a gabled porch. Features are the plinth, sills and iron-grilled doorway, vents and corner detailing. The lock-up is a representative example of a modest bluestone lock-up of the period. Architecturally, the structure is notable for its masonry work and its detailing, which is restrained and is typical of classically derived, vernacular designs by the Public Works Department during the period.

The residence is leased to private tenants. The cells and Powder Magazine remain empty.