QCCL Opposes Police Protection Directions

“The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties opposes the government’s legislation  to introduce Police Protection Directions (PPDs) into Queensland law. The PPDs would enable police – not courts – to make an order against a person lasting for up to 12 months including being excluded from their home for that period” says QCCL President Michael Cope.

Issuing a order of protection has the power to fundamentally undermine a person's rights and liberty, such decisions should be made by a judicial officer. There is a danger of the police failing to understand their role as ‘law enforcers' as opposed to ‘law appliers and makers'.

Tasmania is the only jurisdiction in Australia that currently has similar laws – and there is a growing body of evidence that Tasmanian Police Family Violence Orders are backfiring, with police issuing similar directions to victims of domestic and family violence who have been misidentified as perpetrators.

In Queensland, both the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce and the Commission of Inquiry into QPS Responses to Domestic and Family Violence found that police misidentification of DFV perpetrators and victims is a consistent problem. In other words, conditions are ripe for the government’s planned law to backfire in the same way in Queensland if introduced.

Experience in other jurisdictions also shows that police often do not fully explain the orders or explain how they can be varied; and partly because of the ‘tick a box' forms, the conditions are rarely tailored to the particular circumstances of each case, and often not for the protected person

“Whatever you think of people who perpetrate domestic and family violence, the idea that police could turn up to your property and have the power to throw you out of your own home without any intervention of a court should scare every Queenslander, ” said QCCL President Michael Cope.

“The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence found that the police would need significant training in how to deal with family violence before such laws could be introduced. Has this happened in Queensland?” asks Mr. Cope

The  QCCL urges the government to reconsider the proposed laws and prioritize the establishment of the Police Integrity Unit recommended by the Commission of Inquiry to resolve the existing issues in Queensland policing before increasing law enforcement powers.

For further information contact Michael Cope President QCCL on 07 3223 5939 during office hours and at all times on 0432 847 154  2 May 2025