On 1 August 2023, transitional provisions in the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 became law.

Perhaps the most controversial change is the new section 4(e) of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act (Qld) which now requires a court to identify, where both parties allege domestic violence, the “person who is most in need of protection in the relationship”.  There is also a presumption that there should only be one domestic violence order in place, unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

The new amendments require cross-applications in the same court to be heard at the same time.

The principle requiring courts to identify the person most in need of protection has attracted criticism on the basis that it does not reflect the complexities of human relationships, including LGBTIQA+ and other relationships where heteronormative gendered dynamics are not applicable.  The new provision may also fail to protect victims of domestic violence in cases where police have misidentified the true victim (an occurrence which is unfortunately common) or where both parties are at risk of experiencing violence. In time, much will depend on how the courts define “exceptional circumstances” in this context, and it is anticipated that this will become an area of future judicial focus in the District Court.

Section 36A of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act requires the police, if they are applying for a DVO or issuing a Police Protection Notice, to file a copy of the respondent’s criminal and/or domestic violence history with the Court prior to the first court date.

Section 234 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act now specifically enables a court to ask for a respondent’s criminal and domestic violence history in considering either an application for a protection order or an application to vary a domestic violence order.  In practice, this provision is likely to apply to private applications having regard to the new section 36A.

The new provisions create both legal and practical changes to the process of applying for a domestic violence order. As always, persons who are in the domestic violence system will be best served by detail-oriented, forensic and careful legal representation as the full impact of these changes is developed.