Police Protection Directions: A New Tool to Protect Victim Survivors in Queensland
From 1 January 2026, Queensland police will have a new power aimed at strengthening responses to domestic and family violence. Known as Police Protection Directions (PPDs), this measure is designed to provide immediate and longer-term protection for victim survivors, without requiring them to navigate court processes at a time of crisis.
What is a Police Protection Direction?
A Police Protection Direction is a 12-month, on-the-spot direction that police may issue when responding to domestic or family violence. It requires the person using violence, known as the respondent, to refrain from further violence against the victim survivor (the aggrieved) and any other people named in the direction.
Breaching a PPD is a criminal offence enforceable under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act, with serious penalties attached. The power was introduced through the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025, passed by the Queensland Parliament in August 2025.
Why PPDs have been introduced
Traditionally, police responses to domestic and family violence have involved issuing a Police Protection Notice and then applying to the court for a domestic violence order. While court-based orders remain a critical safeguard, the process can take time and may leave victim survivors without stable, longer-term protection during a high-risk period.
PPDs are intended to fill this gap by allowing police to put enforceable protections in place immediately. By reducing reliance on urgent court applications, the scheme aims to enhance safety, minimise delay, and reduce the trauma associated with legal processes.
When police can issue a PPD
Police may issue a PPD when they reasonably believe the parties are in a relevant relationship, such as a family, intimate partner, or informal care relationship, and that the respondent has committed domestic violence. Officers must also consider whether issuing a PPD is necessary or desirable to protect the aggrieved, and whether it would be more appropriate for the matter to proceed to court instead.
Importantly, police are required to consider the wishes of the aggrieved, including whether they would prefer the matter to be dealt with through a court-ordered protection order.
Conditions and protections under a PPD
All Police Protection Directions include standard conditions designed to prevent further harm. These include prohibitions on further domestic violence, requirements for good behaviour towards the aggrieved and any named persons, and conditions preventing children from being exposed to violence.
Where necessary, police may also impose additional conditions, such as no-contact requirements, ouster conditions excluding the respondent from certain places, arrangements for the supervised return of personal belongings, or short-term “cool-down” restrictions.
Limits on the use of PPDs
There are clear limits on when Police Protection Directions can be issued. They cannot be used if either party is a child, if a domestic violence order or similar order is already in force, if the respondent has certain recent domestic violence convictions, or if existing legal proceedings make a court-based order more appropriate.
Where a proposed PPD would name a child and affect existing family law or child protection orders, police must instead refer the matter through the appropriate legal processes.
Review, enforcement and consequences
People affected by a PPD have access to review mechanisms, including a police review within 28 days and a court review in the Magistrates Court while the direction remains in force. Police will only be able to issue PPDs after completing specialised training, and each direction requires senior officer approval.
Breaching a Police Protection Direction carries serious consequences, with penalties of up to 120 penalty units (currently around $20,000) or up to three years’ imprisonment.
What happens when a PPD ends
A PPD automatically expires after 12 months and cannot be extended or re-issued for the same parties. Once it ends, the protection provided by the direction also ends. If ongoing protection is required, either the aggrieved or police may apply to the court for a domestic violence order.
Looking ahead
The operation and effectiveness of Police Protection Directions will be reviewed as soon as practicable after 1 January 2028. This review will examine safety outcomes for victim survivors, impacts on court processes, and how well PPDs support police responses to domestic and family violence.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence, it’s important to seek advice as soon as possible. Omnia Legal has an expert family law team ready to provide compassionate and focused legal support every step of the way. Your safety, security and peace of mind are our priority.
Call Triple Zero (000) immediately if there is danger.