DVO Breach and Domestic Violence Criminal Lawyers

Is breaching a DVO a criminal offence?

Yes. Contravening a domestic violence order is an offence under section 177 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld). As at 1 July 2026, the maximum penalty is 120 penalty units ($20,724) or 3 years’ imprisonment, or 240 penalty units ($41,448) or 5 years if you were convicted of a domestic violence offence in the 5 years before the breach. Almost every DVO breach is dealt with in the Magistrates Court: 99.9% of the cases in the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s study of these offences were sentenced there.

Queensland has also widened what police can act on. Between 2023 and 2026 it added coercive control as a standalone crime and a new police-issued direction, both covered below.

Domestic Violence Orders and Police Protection Notices

A Domestic Violence Order (DVO), also called a protection order, is made in the Magistrates Court, usually on an application filed by police. Where police believe someone needs immediate protection, they can issue a Police Protection Notice (PPN) on the spot under section 101 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld), without a court hearing. A PPN takes effect immediately and operates as the application for a full DVO, which a magistrate then decides at your first court date. Contravening a PPN is itself a separate criminal offence under section 178 of the Act.

Once a DVO or PPN is in place, the normal conditions are that you must be of good behaviour and not commit any acts of domestic violence. Often there will be additional conditions, such as not contacting or approaching the aggrieved and named persons such as children or relatives. A breach can be as simple as being in the presence of the aggrieved when you shouldn’t, or sending an angry SMS, or it might involve a verbal argument or physical confrontation.

A protection order generally lasts for 5 years unless the court is satisfied there are reasons to make it for a shorter period (s 97 of the Act).

We act in the criminal side of domestic violence: charges for breaching an order, and related offences such as coercive control and assault. We don’t act in DVO applications themselves, such as applying for, responding to or varying an order.

Police Protection Directions: a new power since 1 January 2026

Since 1 January 2026, police have had a further option: a Police Protection Direction (PPD), introduced by the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025. A PPD lets police impose protective conditions on a respondent (such as good behaviour, no-contact, cool-down or ouster conditions) for up to 12 months, without applying to a court at all. Having a PPD made against you isn’t a criminal conviction and isn’t a court order, but contravening a PPD is itself a criminal offence under section 177A of the Act, with a maximum penalty of 120 penalty units ($20,724) or 3 years’ imprisonment, the same as breaching a PPN or DVO. If you’ve been served with a PPD, treat its conditions as binding immediately, even if you intend to dispute it; see Queensland Police Service’s guidance on reviewing a PPD for how a review works.

Coercive control: a separate offence from breaching a DVO

Since 26 May 2025, coercive control has also been a standalone criminal offence in Queensland (separate from, and often charged alongside, a DVO breach). Under section 334C of the Criminal Code (Qld), inserted by the Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, it’s an offence for an adult to engage in a course of conduct: more than one occasion of domestic violence, intended to coerce or control a person they’re in a domestic relationship with, and reasonably likely to cause that person harm. It carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.

The key difference from a DVO breach is that coercive control doesn’t require a protection order to already be in place, and it targets a pattern of controlling behaviour rather than a single incident. It can be charged whether or not a DVO exists, and whether or not any individual incident within the pattern would be enough to be charged on its own. See our full explainer on coercive control for the elements, defences and how it interacts with a DVO breach charge.

What is the maximum penalty for breaching a DVO?

A DVO breach is a criminal offence under section 177 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012. As at 1 July 2026:

A previous “domestic violence offence” attracting the 5 year maximum penalty includes any earlier conviction under part 7 of the Act (such as a previous DVO breach) as well as any prior history for an offence such as an assault that was recorded as a domestic violence offence (the Act’s dictionary).

These are maximums, not automatic outcomes. Most breaches are dealt with in the Magistrates Court, which considers the nature of the breach and your history in deciding how seriously to treat it. A breach can also affect your bail: it’s a “show cause” offence only if the breach involved the use, threatened use or attempted use of violence to a person or property, or you were convicted of another violence offence in the 5 years before it, or of another s 177 DVO breach in the 2 years before it (Bail Act 1980 (Qld), s 16(3)(g) and (6)). For the full picture on arrest, bail and how the charge proceeds, see our step-by-step guide to what happens after a DVO breach.

If the breach is serious, or you have a bad history, we make sure you’re presented in the best possible light. We link you to providers of behavioural change programs, enrol you in anger management courses, arrange drug and alcohol counselling where relevant, and arrange reports from psychologists or psychiatrists. References from friends, family and employers can also make a real difference to the outcome.

What do police have to prove for a DVO breach?

The prosecution has to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that a DVO was in place, that one of the three conditions in s 177(1) was met, and that you did something which breached a condition or conditions. Under section 177(1), those three conditions are that you were in court when the order was made, you were served with a copy, or a police officer told you about it. Police can tell you by phone, email, text or social media (s 177(3)).

Where police rely on having told you about the order, the court can’t convict you just because you were told it existed: it must be satisfied you were told about the specific condition you’re accused of breaching (s 177(4)). And the prosecution carries the burden of proving that you were told (s 177(5)). So, if you were never served and never properly told what the order required, then you can argue against having breached the order.

There’s no general “reasonable excuse” defence in s 177. Whether a charge can be defended usually turns on the strength of the evidence, and whether it proves the contact happened, what was actually said, whether the condition covered it, and whether you knew about that condition. For examples of conduct that gets charged, see what counts as a breach.

Can the aggrieved breach a DVO?

No. A DVO binds the respondent, not the person it protects: section 177(2) says “the respondent must not contravene the order”. Section 180 also makes clear that the aggrieved, or anyone else named in the order, isn’t treated as a party to the respondent’s breach: encouraging, permitting or authorising the contact doesn’t make them liable for it.

The flip side catches many respondents out. Nothing in s 177 excuses a breach because the aggrieved invited it or agreed to it. If the aggrieved calls you, asks to meet, or moves back in, a no-contact condition still applies to you, and you can (and will) be charged. Until a court changes the order, its conditions apply in full, whatever the aggrieved wants.

What happens for a first DVO breach?

The court looks at what the breach involved and your history. Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council data on adults sentenced for DVO breaches between 2016–17 and 2023–24 shows how much prior history matters (Sentencing Spotlight, May 2025):

“Any custodial sentence” includes wholly or partially suspended terms and intensive correction orders, so for a first breach roughly one in nine adults received a custodial sentence of some kind, and about one in sixteen actually went to prison. Where imprisonment was imposed, the average term was 6.7 months. These figures describe past cases across the state; they aren’t a prediction for any individual matter, which depends on its own facts. For how the charge moves through arrest, bail and court, see what happens after a DVO breach.

Does a DVO go on your criminal record?

A DVO on its own doesn’t. It is just a court order. Breaching it is a criminal offence, of course, and that can end up on your history if a conviction is recorded against you. The order does appear on a police domestic violence history, which a court sees in any later proceedings.

Why you should choose George Criminal Lawyers

It is extremely important not to approach these sorts of charges as being trivial. Courts do send people to jail for serious or repeated breaches of DVOs, and a conviction can stay on your record and raise the stakes for any future allegation. Using an inexperienced lawyer can mean you end up behind bars or facing an uncertain future because of a conviction on your record. We have over 15 years of experience representing clients from all walks of life through these charges.

If you want to defend the charge, it’s important to use a careful and experienced lawyer who understands the evidence and how it can be used. Just because police say you weren’t of good behaviour doesn’t mean they’re right. We test that evidence before advising you on a plea, and we also defend related assault and violence charges arising from the same incident.

If you or a family member has been charged with breaching a DVO, PPN or PPD, or with coercive control, or police want to speak to you about one, contact us for confidential, non-judgmental advice, available 24/7 for urgent matters.