Victoria Police confirmed Sylvia, 31, was arrested over an incident on High Street, Windsor about 4pm on Sunday.

He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday on assault-related charges where he was granted bail to reappear on November 28.

Police allege Sylvia sent his ex-girlfriend abusive messages after the end of their seven-year relationship before he climbed her balcony and confronted her on Sunday, Channel Seven reported.

Sylvia, 31, is said to have run away when his former partner called police, but he allegedly returned and hid in a vacant unit nearby and spied on her.

When police arrived at the Windsor property, they allegedly found video he had secretly recorded of her sleeping.

In 2006, the troubled ex-AFL midfielder was ordered not to assault, harass, threaten or intimidate his then girlfriend after an early-morning incident.  

Sylvia was also stripped of his place in the International Rules Series after he left the scene of a serious crash in South Melbourne in 2011. 

He was a passenger in his BMW X5 when it crashed and knocked down a power pole on Kings Way as he returned home after staying at a friend's house.

In December, Sylvia made headlines again when he suffered serious head and neck injuries after apparently falling from a balcony in Melbourne.

His career in the AFL came to an end at the start of 2015 after he was sent to train with Peel by the Dockers and played just six games in his sole season at Fremantle in 2014.