Domestic violence and how to obtain protection
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence and family violence is defined to include:
physical abuse;
damage to a person’s property;
emotional abuse;
economic abuse; or
threatening or coercive behaviour.
The Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld) (the ‘Act’) is the piece of legislation in Queensland that allows the Courts to make Orders protecting people from domestic and family violence. The Act outlines the following non-exhaustive list of behaviours which constitutes domestic violence:
causing personal injury to a person or threatening to do so
coercing a person to engage in sexual activity or attempting to do so
damaging a person’s property or threatening to do so
depriving a person of the person’s liberty or threatening to do so
threatening a person with the death or injury of the person, a child of the person, or someone else
threatening to commit suicide or self-harm so as to torment, intimidate or frighten the person to whom the behaviour is directed
causing or threatening to cause the death of, or injury to, an animal, whether or not the animal belongs to the person to whom the behaviour is directed, so as to control, dominate or coerce the person
unauthorised surveillance of a person
unlawfully stalking a person
The Act says that a child is exposed to domestic violence if the child sees or hears domestic violence or otherwise experiences the effects of domestic violence. Examples of such are as follows:
overhearing threats of physical abuse
overhearing repeated derogatory taunts, including racial taunts
experiencing financial stress arising from economic abuse
seeing or hearing an assault
comforting or providing assistance to a person who has been physically abused
observing bruising or other injuries of a person who has been physically abused
cleaning up a site after the property has been damaged
being present at a domestic violence incident that is attended by police officers
Who can apply for a Domestic Violence Order?
An application for a DVO may be made by the aggrieved person or a police officer who, after investigation, reasonably believes that domestic violence has been committed against the aggrieved.
When will a Domestic Violence Order be made?
The Magistrates Court may grant a DVO if it is satisfied that:
a relevant relationship exists between the aggrieved and the respondent; and
the respondent has committed domestic violence against the aggrieved; and
the DVO is ‘necessary or desirable’ to protect the aggrieved from domestic violence.
A relevant relationship is defined as:
an intimate relationship – an intimate relationship is a spousal, engagement, or couple relationship.
a family relationship – a family relationship exists between two relatives. A relative of a person is someone who is ordinarily understood to be, or to have been, connected to the person by blood or marriage. Relative includes a spouse, child (including an adult child), stepchild, parent, step-parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, nephew, cousin, half-brother, mother-in-law or aunt-in-law.
an informal care relationship – an informal care relationship exists between two persons if one of them is or was dependent on the other person (the carer) for help in an activity of daily living. An informal care relationship does not exist between a child and a parent of a child or if one person helps the other in an activity of daily living under a commercial agreement.
How long does a Domestic Violence Order remain in place?
A DVO continues in force for a period specified by the Court, or if no expiry date is stated, for five years from the day after the DVO is made.
The Court can order that a DVO continues in force for a period of less than five years only if it is satisfied that there are reasons for doing so.
What if a Domestic Violence Order is breached?
It is a criminal offence to breach a DVO. Respondents can face significant penalties for breaching an Order, which can include fines and/or a prison sentence. The penalty will be determined by a range of aspects, including the seriousness of the breach and the respondent’s criminal history.Want to know more?
If you would like to know more, please phone us on 07 5458 9000 for a free chat with one of our solicitors.
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