Home About Our Expertise Our Team Careers Fact Finders Contact

• Family Law
• Divorce
• Property Settlement
• Spousal Maintenance and Child Support & Maintenance
• Child and Parenting Issues
• Consent Orders & Dispute Resolution
• Pre & Post Nuptial, Cohabitation and Separation Agreements
• De Facto Relationships and Same-Sex Relationships
• Domestic Violence
• Useful Links

Domestic Violence

The family law team at Ferguson Cannon have had extensive experience both in acting on behalf of applicants for a Domestic Violence Protection Order as well as defending such applications.  Call our office today on (07) 5443 6600 for confidential and comprehensive advice and a free, no obligation discussion.

In Queensland, the Magistrates Court deals with Domestic Violence applications, as well as withand any applications concerning Domestic Violence Protection Orders already in place pursuant to the  Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 1995. 

To fall within the provisions of that legislation a domestic relationship must exist between the persons.

The person applying for a Protection Order is the “aggrieved” and the person against whom the Order is sought is the “respondent”. 

In lay terms, domestic violence includes:

• Physical abuse such as pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, punching, biting or pinching;
• Threatening to hurt you, your relatives, friends or work colleagues in some way;
• Damaging property such as furniture, the house or pets in order to frighten and intimidate you;
• Forcing you to have sex or take part in sexual acts when you do not want to;
• Depriving you of the necessities of life such as food, shelter, medical care and the company of other people such as your family and friends;
• Demanding that you hand over your money and threatening to stop providing care for you.  This sometimes happens to people with an illness, disability or impairment who rely on another person to care for them.
• Criticising, humiliating and insulting you;
• Following you in public, by car or on foot;
• Staying outside your house or workplace;
• Repeatedly telephoning your home or workplace without your consent; or
• Doing similar things which upset you and make you fear for your safety.

The person committing the domestic violence need not personally commit the act or threaten to commit it.  A person who counsels or procures someone else to commit an act that, if done by the person, would be an act of associated domestic violence, is taken to have committed the act.

Protection orders automatically say the respondent must be of good behaviour and not commit domestic violence against the aggrieved and named persons. As well, all weapons licences held by the respondent will be cancelled for five years. You can also ask for certain conditions as part of the protection order to stop the respondent from doing certain things.

There are also particular provisions if the aggrieved and the respondent have children together.

Further information is set out in a fact finder in that section of our website. 

Call our office today on (07) 5443 6600 and speak with Michelle Beatty for confidential and comprehensive legal advice.