What needs to be Proven to get an Order?
If making a final order at a hearing, the Magistrate will also hear evidence from the parties, and anyone else that has filed an Affidavit in support, from that witness in the witness box in the Courtroom.
The law requires the Magistrate to be satisfied of specific things before making an order.
Temporary Protection Orders
If the applicant is asking the Court to make a Temporary Protection Order, the Magistrate must be satisfied that:
- A relevant relationship exists between the aggrieved and the respondent. A relevant relationship is an intimate personal relationship, a family relationship, or an informal care relationship. For example, a current or former spouse or partner, a sibling, parent, child, or grandparent.
- The respondent has committed domestic violence against the aggrieved. Domestic violence is defined in Section 8 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld) (“the Act”) as conduct that is:
- Physically or sexually abusive;
- Emotionally or psychologically abusive;
- Economically abusive;
- Threatening;
- Coercive; or
- In any other way controls or dominates the second person and causes the second person to fear for the second person’s safety or well-being or that of someone else.
Final Protection Orders
If the applicant is asking the Court to make a final Protection Order, the Magistrate must be satisfied of the above two elements and that:
3. The protection order is necessary or desirable to protect the aggrieved from domestic violence. The Magistrate will determine this based on the evidence available, and consider things such as whether the parties will need to communicate in the future regarding their children and the risk to the aggrieved without an order.