Domestic Violence Orders (QLD)
In Queensland, What is a Domestic Violence Order (DVO)?
Protection Orders can only be made if the Court acknowledges that:
1) All parties were in a relevant relationship
2) the Respondent has committed an act of domestic violence against the Aggrieved; and
3) the Protection Order is necessary or desirable to protect the Aggrieved from domestic violence.
Relevant Relationships between the Aggrieved and Respondent can be considered as:
- Intimate, personal relationships (i.e. spouses, engaged relations and couples)
- Family relationships (i.e. was or currently still are relatives by blood or marriage)
- An informal care relationship
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic Violence is behaviour towards another person that includes:
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Emotional or psychological abuse
- Economical abuse
- Threats or coercion
- Attempts to control or dominate another person, causing them to fear for their (or someone else’s) safety or wellbeing
What is Family Violence?
Family Violence is defined as:
- When someone is violent or is threatening to be violent towards a family member
- Any other behaviour that coerces or controls another family member, or causes them to be fearful
- Includes physical, financial, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse
Family members are:
- People who share intimate or personal relationships (i.e. married, de facto or domestic partners)
- Parents and children (including stepchildren)
- Birth relatives, relatives through marriage or adoption
- People who you treat like a family member (i.e. caretaker, guardian, or person related to you within the familial structure of your culture)
- Anyone who used to be considered a family member in the past (including ex-partners)
Temporary Protection Orders
Temporary Protection Orders can be made in the interim period before Court decides whether or not a protection order will be made for the aggrieved.
Protection orders can contain special conditions such as prohibiting contact with the aggrieved, restricting the respondent from approaching the aggrieved within a certain distance and/or going to specific places, ordering that the respondent not have weapons, and/or ordering the respondent to leave a place where the aggrieved and respondent reside. These can be changed to suit the aggrieved’s specific situation.
Breaching an Order
The breach of a Protection Order is a criminal offence which can be prosecuted by the Police and is punishable by a maximum penalty of:
- 120 penalty units or 3 years’ imprisonment; or
- If the Respondent has previously been convicted of a breach of a Protection Order in the last 5 years, then they could receive a fine up to 240 penalty units (currently $28,272) or 5 years’ imprisonment.
- As of 1 July 2021 – a penalty unit is $137.85.
DVO FAQs
What are Temporary Protection Orders?
Temporary Protection Orders are orders that can be made in the interim period before Court decides whether or not a protection order will be made for the aggrieved.
What is a Voluntary Intervention Order?
If a magistrate makes or varies (changes) a domestic violence protection order, it can also make a voluntary intervention order requiring the respondent to attend an intervention program, a perpetrators intervention program or counselling to address their behaviour.
This order can only be made if the respondent is present at court, they agree to the voluntary intervention order being made or varied, and they agree to comply. You should get legal advice.
Are children included on Domestic Violence Protection Orders?
Yes, children can be included if they are at risk of being exposed or subject to domestic violence – it can be your children, children who usually live with you or spend time at your home on a regular basis, or unborn children if you are pregnant (by which it the protection order will take place after the child is born).
A child is considered exposed to domestic violence if they hear, see, or experience it – even by seeing damaged property in their own home.
Can I change a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
The aggrieved, the respondent or any other person named in the order can apply to vary (change) the domestic violence protection order. If the police have taken out the order they can oppose this. The aggrieved or the respondent can apply to change:
- the order’s conditions
- the people named in the order
- the order’s length (to have it end sooner or make it longer).
People named in the order (eg your friends and family) can only apply to change the parts of the order that relate to them.
When deciding whether to vary (change) an order, the magistrate must consider:
- the wishes of the aggrieved or any other person named on the order
- whether the aggrieved or any other person named in the order may have been pressured
- the safety, protection or wellbeing of the aggrieved or any other person named in the order.
The magistrate will only change the order if it’s satisfied the aggrieved, or any other person named on the order, would not be adversely affected by the change.
To apply to change the order’s terms or conditions, you will need to complete a Form DV04 Application to vary a domestic violence order.
If there’s a domestic violence protection order between you and your partner, you should get legal advice about living together. The respondent may be breaching the order just by being near you. You can have a domestic violence protection order and still live with each other.
What happens if you breach a Protection Order?
The breach of a Protection Order is a criminal offence which can be prosecuted by the Police and is punishable by a maximum penalty of:
- 120 penalty units or 3 years’ imprisonment; or
- If the Respondent has previously been convicted of a breach of a Protection Order in the last 5 years, then they could receive a fine up to 240 penalty units (currently $28,272) or 5 years’ imprisonment.
As of 1 July 2021 – a penalty unit is $137.85.
What conditions can be put in a Protection Order?
Protection orders can contain special conditions such as:
- Prohibiting contact with the aggrieved
- Restricting the respondent from approaching the aggrieved within a certain distance and/or going to specific places
- Ordering that the respondent not have weapons, and/or
- Ordering the respondent to leave a place where the aggrieved and respondent reside.
These conditions can be changed to suit the aggrieved’s unique situation.
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