Children and domestic violence protection orders

Children can be included on domestic violence orders to protect them. However, children can’t take out an order against their parents by themselves.

If you or your children are at risk of immediate harm, call the police. In an emergency, call 000. 

 

 

When you need legal advice

Get legal advice if:

  • you or your children are at risk of domestic or family violence or abuse
  • you need help to work out a plan to leave a relationship safely
  • you want to apply for a domestic violence protection order
  • you had to leave your home because of violence, but your name is still on the lease
  • you have a domestic violence protection order and a family law order that are inconsistent
  • you have been asked to attend family dispute resolution, but have concerns for your safety
  • someone has applied for a domestic violence protection order against you
  • you have been issued with a police protection notice
  • police have made an application for a domestic violence protection order against you or your partner
  • you want to change a domestic violence protection order
  • you had an order interstate or overseas and want to register it in Queensland.

How to get legal advice

 

Domestic violence protection orders and parenting orders

The magistrate must consider any family law orders you have before deciding to make or change (vary) a domestic violence order. If you have a family law order about your children, or if there are proceedings in the family law courts about your children, you must:

  • tell the magistrate
  • attach a copy of the order to your application for a domestic violence order or give a copy to the magistrate. 

A magistrate can consider changing your family law order if:

  • the conditions in the order are in conflict with conditions in your domestic violence order
  • the conditions in the order could make you, your children or anyone else named in your domestic violence application unsafe. 

For example, if your family law order allows the respondent to come to your home to collect your children and these visits lead to verbal abuse, threats or any other act of domestic violence, the magistrate can change the family law order to make the collection point away from where you live. The magistrate can also cancel or suspend your existing parenting order if they’re satisfied it would be unsafe for you or the children to continue spending time with the respondent.

If you have a domestic violence protection order and you later apply to a family law court for a parenting order or an order about your children, you must tell the court about the domestic violence order.

Can a child apply for, or respond to, a domestic violence protection order? 

Children can’t be an applicant or respondent to a domestic violence protection order if it relates to a family relationship.

A child can’t apply for an order against their parent or guardian and a parent or guardian can’t apply for an order against their child.

People aged under 18 can only be the applicant or a respondent to a domestic violence protection order if they’re in, or have been in an:

  • intimate personal relationship (married, defacto, registered relationship, engaged, couple)
  • informal care relationship (where one person is dependent on the other person for help in an activity of daily living, like dressing and cooking for them).

If someone applies for a domestic violence protection order against a child, copies of the documents served on the child must also be given to one of their parents. The child shouldn’t be served at school, unless there is no other way to serve them.

Including children on a domestic violence protection order

You can ask for your children to be included on a domestic violence protection order to protect them from violence.

This includes:

  • your children
  • step-children
  • an unborn child (the order would have a condition that takes effect when the child is born)
  • any other children living with you (i.e. any children spending time at your home on a regular or ongoing basis, like weekends or school holidays).

Children can be included on a domestic violence protection order if the magistrate thinks it’s necessary or desirable to protect the child from domestic violence. The law says a child has been exposed to domestic violence if they hear, see or ‘otherwise experience’ domestic violence. This could include:

  • helping a family member who has been hurt as a result of domestic violence
  • seeing damaged property in the home.

If the magistrate knows you have children living with you or regularly visiting your home, then they must consider including those children on the domestic violence protection order.

How to get legal advice

We may give legal advice about domestic and family violence.

Contact us

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Disclaimer: This content is for general purposes only and not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please contact us or speak to a lawyer. View our full disclaimer.

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