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Family violence – Queensland
Family or domestic violence is violence that occurs within the family. It includes:
- physical violence
- threats
- emotional and psychological abuse, such as name calling and ‘controlling behaviour’
- damage to property.
‘Controlling behaviour’ may include being told what to wear, when you are allowed to leave the house and where you are allowed to go, or having money and spending controlled.
Violent behaviour, threats and stalking are crimes and you can take action to stop them. The police can arrest and charge people for doing this.
If there is violence or you have been threatened, get help from the police. If you are at immediate risk of harm get help from the police immediately.
Children must also be protected from physical and psychological harm. This includes seeing family violence as well as being hurt themselves.
Leaving a violent situation
Specialist family violence services can help you and your children work out a plan to leave a relationship safely. Legal Aid Queensland (link below), a Family Relationship Centre (link below) or the Family Relationship Advice Line can refer you to specialist family violence services in your area. See ‘Services that can help’ (link below).
If you decide to leave the relationship you should take personal documents, for example, identification, bank/cheque books, passports, marriage certificate, and any items that have sentimental value. You should also take things you need for yourself and the children, if they are going with you. You can legally take anything that you own yourself, or that you own with another person.
Do not put yourself in danger by arguing over belongings if you are leaving a relationship.
Court orders
You can apply for a domestic violence protection order in the magistrates court yourself or get someone to help you, such as the police, a lawyer, friend or welfare worker. Legal aid is available for making applications for protection orders.
If you are applying for a protection order you are called the 'aggrieved' and the person you want the order against is the 'respondent'.
A domestic violence protection order can:
- restrict or prohibit the respondent from contacting you
- restrict or prohibit the respondent contacting your relatives and friends
- restrict the respondent's contact with children
- prohibit the respondent from having a weapon
- remove the respondent from your home if you have been living together (an ‘ouster order’).
To apply for a domestic violence protection order your relationship with the respondent must be one of the following:
- spouse or former spouse
- de facto partner or former de facto partner (including a same-sex de facto partner)
- you are both parents of the same child (including an unborn child)
- you are relatives by blood or marriage
- this can include an extended definition of relative used by some cultural groups such as people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
- this does not include children under the age of 18
- you are in an intimate personal relationship, that is:
- an engagement to be married
- a dating relationship where your lives are or were involved to the extent that the actions of one affects the actions or life of the other, whether or not there is a sexual relationship
- informal care relationships where one person is dependant upon the other for help with an activity of daily living.
To obtain a domestic violence protection order, you must show that one of the following types of violence has occurred and is likely to occur again:
- threats to injure you or any children, or to damage your property
- physical violence, including violence that does not cause actual injury, for example, pushing, shoving, holding down
- damage to property, including animals
- indecent behaviour, for example, coercive sexual behaviour, forced sexual intercourse
- intimidation and harassment, which may include:
- persistent phone calls
- verbal abuse
- stalking
- financial abuse, for example, refusing to provide money for food and necessities
- social abuse, for example, isolating a person from family and friends
- psychological abuse, for example, constant put-downs.
You can also apply to the family law courts for an injunction as part of a family law case. If the injunction is to do with property and there are no children involved you must be married to apply.
A family law court order will override (take the place of) a family violence order made by the local magistrates court if they are inconsistent (saying different things). The family law courts can also order state and territory agencies (such as a child welfare agency) to provide any information they may have about allegations of family violence or child abuse.
The domestic violence protection order itself is a civil order but ‘breaching’ (breaking) an order is a criminal matter. You can make a complaint to the police about any breach of an order.
Children and protection orders
A child under 18 may be an applicant or respondent for protection orders if they are in a spousal relationship, intimate personal relationship or informal care relationship.
A child under 18 may be included on a protection order in favour of an applicant such as their parent.
Children under 18 cannot bring an application against their parent or guardian. A parent or guardian may not bring an order against a child to manage the child's behaviour.
Changing or ending a domestic violence protection order
Either the applicant or the respondent can apply to ‘vary’ (change) or ‘revoke’ (end) the order, but if the police have taken out the order, they can oppose this.
Family violence and family dispute resolution
If there is family violence, family dispute resolution may not be right for you. Family dispute resolution is about people coming together with an independent person to help them talk about their differences and try to agree. You can also have family dispute resolution without being in the same room as your ex-partner.
If there is family violence, you should always let the family dispute resolution service know. If you wish to participate in family dispute resolution and there is family violence you might be able to make special arrangements to make sure you are safe and can negotiate properly.
More information
Parenting orders & family violence
Related publications
How to run your family law case
You and family law: a short guide