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This website discusses domestic and family violence and coercive control.
Call Triple Zero (000) and ask for Police if you are in a dangerous or life-threatening situation.
If you don't want to speak to the police you can also call DV Connect on 1800 811 811 or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
Find other support options
What protection options are available?
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV), you may seek police protections or apply to a court for a domestic violence order (DVO).
Seeking police protection
Police Protection Direction (PPD)
If you are experiencing DFV and call the police, police may issue a PPD, requiring the person using violence to stop committing DFV against you. A PPD is an on-the-spot, 12-month direction that can be issued by police in circumstances where it would not be more appropriate for the matter to go to court.
Breaking a PPD is a criminal offence.
Further information and resources about PPDs are available on the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability services and Child Saftey website.
Police Protection Notice (PPN)
If you are experiencing DFV and call the police, police may issue a PPN, which is an on-the-spot, short-term notice taken to be an application to court for a Domestic Violence Order (DVO). A PPN will remain in effect until your matter is heard in court, where a longer-term DVO may be considered.
Breaking a PPN is a criminal offence.
Find more information about reporting domestic and family violence to the police.
Domestic Violence Order (DVO)
A DVO may be issued by a court to protect you from DFV. There are two types of DVOs: a protection order and a temporary protection order.
A protection order is made by a magistrate in court. Most protection orders last for 5 years, but the court can make them for shorter or longer periods if appropriate.
If you need urgent protection, either yourself or the police can apply for a temporary protection order. The order will protect you until the date a magistrate can decide on the application for a full protection order.
Breaking a DVO is a criminal offence.
Applying for a DVO
The application process for a full protection order can take several weeks. If you’re currently in danger you can apply for a temporary protection order until the full order is finalised.
You can either:
- apply for a DVO yourself
- have a police officer, lawyer, friend or family member apply for you.
Regardless of who applies, the court makes an order with the conditions it considers appropriate, and the police enforce the order in the same way.
How to apply yourself
If you apply yourself, you can choose from these options:
- complete online
- complete the interactive PDF - (PDF, 273.9 KB) on your computer or print it and complete by hand
- go to your nearest Magistrates Court and complete the form there.
If you don’t have enough space on the form, write or type more information on a separate sheet of paper and attach it to your form.
For more information, read the Guide to completing an application for a protection order (PDF, 510.8 KB)
Once you’ve completed the form:
- sign the statutory declaration in front of a Justice of the Peace (JP) or Commissioner for Declarations (CDec)
- file the application at a Magistrates Court in Queensland, by post or in person. In some limited circumstances you may also file the application by email.
Most Magistrates Courts have JPs, so you can probably sign the statutory declaration and file the application in one visit. Otherwise, search for your nearest JP or Cdec.
In some circumstances you do not need to complete the statutory declaration before filing your application with the Magistrates Court, for further information please refer to section 12 in the guide to completing an application for a protection order.
What to expect at court
Once your application for a DVO has been filed, you will receive a date for your first appearance at court, which you must attend.
Most people attend court more than once before obtaining a final protection order.
It may take a while for your turn in the court, as several protection matters are heard on the same day. It’s best to set aside the whole day to come to court .
If you have children, it’s a good idea to make other childcare arrangements while you’re in court as courthouses have no childminding facilities and it’s not appropriate for children to be in the courtroom.
Safety at court
If you apply for a DVO or other type of family order, you will go to court at the same time as the respondent (the person using violence). The courtroom will be a closed court, meaning the only people in the courtroom will be you, the respondent (the person using violence), your lawyers and, if the application was made by police, a police prosecutor.
If you feel you may be unsafe when arriving at court, being in court, or leaving court, you can complete Part A of a Court Safety Form and provide it to the Magistrates Court with your application, or before your next court date.
This form can be completed at any stage of the court process if events arise that make you concerned about your safety attending court.
The information you provide will help court staff decide if additional safety measures are required to help ensure your safety when at the courthouse. Court staff will let you know what these safety measures are before you attend court. The court safety form will be put on your court file, but it won’t be part of your domestic violence application and won’t be shown to the respondent (person using violence).
Being represented at court
If the police apply for the protection order, a police prosecutor will prosecute the application in court.
If you’ve hired a lawyer, they will represent you in the courtroom. An aggrieved person (the victim-survivor) may be eligible to receive help from a lawyer funded by Legal Aid.
You can also represent yourself in court and request a support person be with you.
If you want representation but can’t afford a lawyer, contact:
- Legal Aid Queensland
- your local courthouse (to ask what options are available, including help to find a Queensland Police Service Prosecutor who can help you on the day).
Conditions
PPDs, PPNs and DVOs all have standard conditions.
These conditions include that the person using violence:
- must be of good behaviour toward the aggrieved and any named persons
- must not commit DFV or associated DFV against the aggrieved or named persons
- must not expose a named child to DFV
- must not organise, encourage, ask, tell, force or engage another person to commit DFV on their behalf.
Other conditions may be included by police or the court to keep you safe, such as stopping the person using violence from contacting you or preventing their access to your house or workplace.
From 1 October 2025, Magistrates Courts in a few locations can impose an electronic monitoring device condition on a DVO for respondents (persons using violence) who meet certain eligibility criteria. This program is a 2 year pilot, currently operating in Townsville and Caboolture.