Domestic Violence Lawyers Toowoomba

Domestic violence is the exertion of power and control through fear. It takes many forms, including abusive and controlling or dominating behaviour. Any action that causes fear for the safety or well-being of another is domestic violence.

Behaviour is considered domestic violence when it occurs in the context of an intimate personal relationship, a family relationship (by marriage or blood), or an informal care relationship (where one person depends on another for daily help).

In some communities, a person is considered a relative in the absence of blood or marriage ties.

Examples of domestic violence include:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse;
• Verbal abuse;
• Damaging or threats to damage property;
• Hurting or threats to hurt a pet;
• Spiritual or cultural abuse;
• Emotional/psychological and social isolation abuse, including stalking, making insulting comments, blackmailing, extorting, preventing contact with family or friends, and controlling another’s appearance;
• Economic abuse, including withholding money or property or threats to do so;
• Threatening behaviour, such as behaving in a way to make another afraid;
• Threatening suicide or self-harm; and
• Coercive behaviour, including manipulating or intimidating a person to act against their wishes.

You don’t have to suffer physical injury to be a victim of domestic violence.

It is crucial to seek help if you are experiencing domestic violence. The Police must investigate suspected cases of domestic violence. They can provide protection in various ways, including charging the perpetrator with a criminal offence and taking them into custody. The Police can also apply for an urgent temporary domestic violence protection order on your behalf.

Contact us using the inquiry form below if you need advice about domestic violence issues.

The CLO Lawyers family law team, led by Murray Crawford, offers a confidential, fixed-fee appointment to provide advice and assistance.

Suppose you are in a relationship with someone abusive, controlling, dominating, or causing you to fear for your safety or well-being. In that case, you can apply for a domestic violence order. Alternatively, you can get a police officer, lawyer, or someone you trust to bring an application on your behalf.

In Queensland, a domestic violence order is a court order made under the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2012 (Queensland).

The following terms are used in domestic violence proceedings in Queensland:

• The applicant for a domestic violence order is called the “aggrieved”;
• The person whose behaviour is the subject of the domestic violence application is called the “respondent”; and
• The official paper or Order that specifies what the respondent can or cannot do under a successful application is called a “domestic violence order”.

An application for a domestic violence order must be made in the prescribed form. It will need to be signed and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations, or a lawyer and lodged with a Magistrates Court. The application form can be obtained from any Magistrates Court or police station. It can also be accessed from the Queensland Courts website. After completing the online application, you must download and print it. The completed signed and witnessed application form must be filed in the Magistrates Court.

No filing fee is associated with an application for a domestic violence order.

Once filed in the Magistrates Court, the Magistrates Court Registry will allocate a hearing date for the application. The application will be provided by the court to the Police, who will serve the application on the respondent.

If you apply for a non-urgent domestic violence protection order, a copy of your application will be served on the respondent. The respondent can do one of the following:

• agree to an order,
• oppose the application for an order, or
• obtain an adjournment of the court date to obtain legal advice.

Suppose the respondent opposes the application for a domestic violence order. In that case, the court will provide a hearing date for the application to be determined.

At the hearing of the application for a domestic violence order, you will need to demonstrate the following:

• You are in a ‘relevant’ relationship, that is, an intimate personal relationship, a family relationship, or an informal care relationship;
• You have suffered domestic violence perpetrated by the respondent; and
• The Order you seek is necessary or desirable to protect you from domestic violence.

Couples are regarded as being in an intimate personal relationship if they:

• Are married;
• Are separated or divorced;
• Have a child or children together; or
• Live together or have lived together.

If you can show that the application’s requirements are met, the court will make a domestic violence order. The Order will state how the perpetrator must behave toward you.

A domestic violence order can protect other people affected by the violence, and these affected individuals can be named in the domestic violence order. Such a person, known as a “named person”, can include your child, relative, new partner, or friend. The same conditions that apply to protect you will also apply to the named person.

Information is the key to making decisions about your current and future circumstances. Connecting with counselling and legal professionals who provide practical advice and guidance empowers you to identify your options, determine your priorities and make appropriate decisions.

Our family law team, led by Murray Crawford, offers a confidential, fixed-fee appointment to provide advice and support. And we help you understand your options and plan the way forward. Contact us by phone or completing the inquiry form at the bottom of this page.

Suppose you are not at risk of immediate harm but believe you need an urgent protection order. In that case, you should speak to a police officer or the staff of the Magistrates Court or get legal advice from a lawyer.

If you or your children are at risk of immediate harm, you should call the Police. In an emergency, call 000.

You can go to court before the respondent is told about your application for a domestic violence order. Orders made in the absence of the respondent occur where there are allegations of a serious nature that justify an order being made before the respondent is made aware of the application.

Subsequently, you will be given another date when the court will hear from you and the respondent about your circumstances.

When Police attend a place where domestic and family violence occurs or has occurred, and the respondent is present, they can issue a police protection notice to the respondent. This notice takes effect immediately. It requires the respondent to “be of good behaviour” toward the aggrieved and to not commit domestic violence. The following restrictions can also be included in the notice:

• A 24-hour cool-down, requiring the respondent to leave the residence and not contact the aggrieved or named person for a period not exceeding 24 hours;
• A no-contact condition, which also requires the respondent to not locate the aggrieved’s whereabouts;
• An ouster condition, which stops the respondent from approaching or entering a stated premises; and
• A return condition allowing the respondent to return to the premises to recover personal property under police supervision.

After the police protection notice is made, a copy of the notice must be filed by the police officer at the local Magistrates Court. Filing of the notice is taken to be an application for a domestic violence order made by a police officer.

Where a notice is issued and a court order subsequently made, the notice remains in force until the Order is served on the respondent and becomes enforceable.

Breaching a police protection notice is an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment.

If a domestic violence order had been made naming you as the respondent or the Police have issued a police protection notice against you, you should do the following:

• Follow the notice even if you disagree with it;
• Do not contradict the Order or notice it in any way;
• Go to court on the date indicated in the Order or notice provided to you;
• Get legal advice about the conditions of the Order or notice, the options available to you, and the next steps in the proceedings; and
• Get support from family, friends, or a support service.

A domestic violence order may affect any weapons and security licenses you hold.

A final domestic violence order typically lasts for 5 years.

A conviction for breaking a domestic violence order, including a temporary order, is a criminal offence.

Suppose you have been served with a Domestic Violence application naming you as the respondent, a Domestic Violence Order, or Police Protection Notice. In any of those cases, you should obtain urgent legal advice about your options and next steps.

Our family law team, led by Murray Crawford, offers a confidential, fixed-fee appointment to provide the advice you need. And we help you plan the way forward. Contact us without delay by phone or completing the enquiry form at the foot of this page.

A person can apply to vary or change the conditions or duration of a domestic violence order or the people named on the Order. A court can also change the Order on its own initiative.

A court must consider the safety, protection, and well-being of the people protected by the Order and the wishes of the aggrieved. It must be established that the aggrieved has not been pressured into agreeing to the variation.

There is sometimes a need to resolve parenting issues simultaneously with determining an application for a domestic violence order.

Orders about parenting arrangements after separation are made in the FCFCOA.

Parenting orders made in the FCFCOA will override any inconsistent conditions in a domestic violence order because federal laws override state laws. To remedy this situation, the Family Law Act allows state courts to amend parenting orders. The state court can remove inconsistencies between the family law order and the domestic violence order to ensure that the aggrieved and their children are protected from violence.