Domestic violence is when one person behaves in a way that controls or dominates another person and causes fear for their safety and wellbeing. It happens in intimate, family or informal care relationships.

It can take many forms:

• physical or sexual abuse: punching, hitting, choking, or threatening to punch or hit, forcing a person to participate in sexual acts, damaging someone’s property or threatening to damage property, including hurting or threatening to hurt pets
• emotional or psychological abuse: stalking, repeated text messaging, making insulting comments, calling someone names, blackmailing or extorting, preventing contact with family and/or friends, controlling someone’s appearance, putting them down, threatening to expose their sexual orientation
• economic abuse: denying, withholding, controlling or misusing money or property, or threatening to do so
• threatening behaviour: saying things or acting in a way to make someone feel afraid, threatening to commit suicide or self-harm, stalking
• coercive behaviour: forcing, intimidating or manipulating a person to do things they don’t want to do, such as sign a contract (e.g. for a loan) or a legal document giving another person power over their affairs (e.g. power of attorney).

Domestic violence extends to children seeing violence, like their parent being hurt, being called names, things being broken or police arriving.

Since 26 May 2025, coercive control has been a criminal offence in Queensland. It applies to an adult in a domestic relationship who engages in a course of domestic violence conduct against the other person on more than one occasion, intending to coerce or control them. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment, and the offence only covers conduct from 26 May 2025 onwards. Coercive control charges are serious and often sit alongside a DVO or breach charges, so speak with a Gold Coast criminal lawyer as early as possible.

There are many Government and community support services to help you if you’re in a domestic violence relationship. Most of them provide free services.

Two immediate services are listed below:

Womensline

DVConnect’s Womensline is a 24 hour, 7 days a week crisis helpline on 1800 811 811. It is a service for Queenslanders who want to escape domestic and family violence.

The number one goal of Womensline is to respond to immediate safety needs. Womensline offers free, specialist crisis counselling, as well as information, referrals and support to people living with domestic and family violence. Each day, DVConnect’s counsellors support Queenslanders who fear violent partners, ex-partners or family members, and who need a safe place for themselves, their children and often their pets.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

Mensline

DVConnect’s Mensline is a free, confidential telephone crisis counselling, referral and support service for men living in Queensland. It is available 9am until midnight, 7 days a week, on 1800 600 636.

DVConnect’s Mensline offers counselling, referral and support for both:

• Men who are experiencing domestic and family violence
• Men who are using violence in their relationships

When making an application for a domestic violence order, one can apply to have children included on the protection order if they have been exposed to domestic violence. Exposure to domestic violence includes hearing, seeing, or otherwise experiencing domestic violence.

This includes situations where a child helps a family member who has been injured as a result of domestic violence or where a child sees damaged property in their home as a result of domestic violence. An unborn child can also be deemed to have been exposed to domestic violence.

The Magistrate will consider the request to include children on the domestic violence protection order and will do so if the court deems it necessary and desirable to protect the children from domestic violence.

If someone has lodged an application for a domestic violence order (DVO) against you, you will be called ‘the respondent’ on the application and in the courtroom.

A police officer will give you a copy of the application. It’s important that you read the application carefully. The application will include the allegations made against you by the aggrieved (person who will be protected by the order) and a date and time that you need to go to court.

You can appear in court by yourself or with your lawyer. If you want representation but can’t afford a lawyer, contact Legal Aid Queensland or your local courthouse.

If you have received an application and don’t go to court when you’re required to, the court can make a final protection order or temporary protection order (two types of DVOs) against you in your absence.

A magistrate may also issue a warrant for police to take you into custody and bring you to court.

Gold Coast domestic violence matters are heard at the Southport Magistrates Court, in the Southport Courthouse on the corner of Davenport and Hinze Streets, and at the Coolangatta Magistrates Court. Southport became Queensland’s first permanent specialist domestic and family violence court after a trial that began on 1 September 2015. The specialist court has dedicated magistrates, a specialist registry, specialist duty lawyers and support services. Our Southport office is also on Davenport Street, so we’re close by on your court day.

It is a criminal offence to breach a Domestic Violence Order, and the same applies to a Police Protection Direction.

A respondent who breaches a Domestic Violence Order in Queensland faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 penalty units.

If you were convicted of a domestic violence offence in the five years before the breach, the maximum increases to five years imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 penalty units.

Alternatively, a Court may order a term of probation, requiring that a defendant participate in domestic violence courses or any other intervention deemed necessary by the Probation and Parole office.

A breach of a Domestic Violence Order may also result in a criminal record. If you have been charged, our Gold Coast criminal lawyers can defend you.

From 1 January 2026, Queensland police can issue a Police Protection Direction (PPD) on the spot, without a court application. A PPD directs the respondent not to commit domestic violence against the aggrieved and anyone else named on it. Breaching a PPD is a criminal offence, in the same way as breaching a Domestic Violence Order. If you have been issued with a PPD, get legal advice about what it means for you, including for any family law matters.

A court can also make an intervention order when it is making or varying a domestic violence order.

An intervention order requires the respondent to attend an approved intervention program and/or counselling to address the respondent’s violent behaviour. This order can only be made with the respondent’s consent. The court can only make an intervention order if it is satisfied there is an appropriate program or counselling available at a reasonably convenient location to the respondent.

The Court will consider that the Respondent has breached an Order of the Court and will be unlikely to vary the Domestic Violence Order in a way that is favourable to the Respondent. It is not a criminal offence to breach an intervention order, however, it is noted on the Court file and can be used against the Respondent in future proceedings.

If you’re experiencing domestic violence, you can apply for a domestic violence order (DVO). The DVO sets out conditions that must be obeyed by the person who has committed the violence (‘the respondent’). You can complete the relevant application form online or download and print the form to complete it by hand.

When completing the form, answer all the questions on the form and include as much information as possible, including what domestic violence has happened or been threatened, and when and where it occurred.

Try to provide as much detail as you can and, when describing what the respondent has said to you, try to use their words as you remember them. You can attach extra pages to your application.

There is no cost to apply for a domestic violence order. If the person isn’t in a domestic relationship with you, a peace and good behaviour order may be the right option instead.