Queensland Domestic Violence Advocates Raise Concerns Over Police Power Expansion

Proposed laws in Queensland that would expand police powers in responding to domestic and family violence have sparked concerns among advocates. The changes could shift the response away from the court system and towards police-issued protection directives.

The proposed legislation would grant police the power to issue on-the-spot protection directives that would last for three years, an expansion of the current 12-month directions that have been in effect since January. New offences would also be established for repeatedly contravening a police protection direction or domestic violence order. The maximum penalty for contravening a direction could be up to five years.

The Queensland Police Union has been advocating for these changes, saying they would allow for quicker protection for victim-survivors and reduce "unnecessary administrative processes" for officers.

However, Melanie Arnost, chief executive of the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Alliance, said that while her members support measures that hold offenders accountable, some are opposed to police protection directions altogether. "They don't believe that they're effective and they would really like to see those evaluations delivered before we go about expanding something that we're not sure works," she said.

Arnost added that advocates are concerned a police protection direction may not provide the same level of protection as the court system for some victim-survivors.

Concerns from the Queensland Law Society

The Queensland Law Society has also expressed concerns, stating that a police-issued direction should not continue for three years "without mandatory judicial consideration".

The North Queensland Women's Service raised similar concerns, saying that high-risk and complex cases are often not identified at the time of the incident, but rather during an appointment with a specialist domestic violence duty lawyer or support worker.

The North Queensland Women's Legal Service noted that people subject to restrictive conditions may not understand they can seek a court review or have the resources, knowledge, or capacity to do so.

Redirecting Work to Police

Arnost said support services have also expressed concern that work related to domestic and family violence is being redirected to police rather than specialist courts. "Our members hold concerns that when victim-survivors are not going through the court system that they might be missed completely and not access the support that's available to them," she said.

While supportive of the bill, the Queensland Police Union has called for it to be amended to ensure officers who exercise their powers in good faith would not "incur personal liability" for decisions.

Government Response

Police Minister Dan Purdie said the government is "protecting more victims of domestic and family violence sooner and holding perpetrators to account by delivering nation-leading domestic and family violence reforms".

The legislation also includes provisions to expand electronic monitoring of high-risk domestic violence offenders statewide and clarify the process for restricting cross-examination of victim-survivors in court.

A public hearing on the bill will be held in Brisbane next week, with additional hearings scheduled for Rockhampton, Toowoomba, and Logan later this month.