What Is a Show Cause Hearing? Queensland Bail Explained
Bail & Remand — 2026-06-29 — by Sacha Sarah Smith, Civic Law
For certain charges in Queensland, the normal presumption in favour of bail is reversed. The person in custody must show cause — actively demonstrate to the court why they should be released. What triggers show cause, what the court expects, and what a strong application looks like.
Most bail applications in Queensland start from a favourable position. Under the <em>Bail Act 1980</em> (Qld), the court has a duty to grant bail unless the prosecution can show there is an unacceptable risk in doing so. The person in custody does not need to earn their release — the prosecution has to justify their detention.
Show cause reverses that. For certain categories of offence, the <em>Bail Act</em> requires the defendant to demonstrate to the court why their continued detention is not justified. The onus shifts entirely. Silence or a bare request for bail will fail. The court must refuse bail unless the defendant actively persuades it otherwise.
The difference between the two positions is not academic. A standard bail application can succeed on relatively minimal material if the prosecution has nothing compelling to say against release. A show cause application cannot. It requires an affidavit, written submissions, and proposed conditions — prepared before the hearing, not improvised at the bar table.
When Show Cause Applies
Section 16(3) of the <em>Bail Act 1980</em> (Qld) sets out the circumstances in which show cause is triggered. The list covers a broad range of offending, and it has expanded significantly in recent years — particularly for domestic violence matters.
<strong>Offending while on bail.</strong> An indictable offence allegedly committed while at large — with or without bail — prior to trial for another indictable offence. This is one of the most common show cause triggers. A person charged with a second indictable offence while awaiting trial on the first is in a show cause position on the second charge.
<strong>Murder and repeat serious child sex offences.</strong> These matters carry the additional restriction that only a Supreme Court judge (or, for a child, a Childrens Court judge) may grant bail.
<strong>Use of a weapon.</strong> An indictable offence allegedly involving the use or threatened use of a firearm, offensive weapon, or explosive substance.
<strong>Offences against the Bail Act.</strong> A person charged with an offence under the <em>Bail Act</em> itself — including breach of a bail condition under section 29 or failure to appear under section 33 — is in a show cause position on any subsequent bail application.
<strong>Choking, suffocation, or strangulation in a domestic setting.</strong> An offence under section 315A of the <em>Criminal Code</em>. This provision was added by the <em>Bail (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 2017</em> and reflects the established link between non-lethal strangulation and escalating domestic violence.
<strong>Serious offences that are also domestic violence offences.</strong> Any offence carrying a maximum penalty of at least seven years imprisonment, where the offence is also a domestic violence offence. This captures a wide range of conduct — serious assault, grievous bodily harm, robbery, arson — when committed in a domestic context.
<strong>Specific Criminal Code offences in a DV context.</strong> Threatening violence (section 75), dangerous operation of a vehicle (section 328A), unlawful stalking (section 359E), deprivation of liberty (section 355), and injuring animals (section 468) — when the offence is also a domestic violence offence.
<strong>Coercive control.</strong> The offence under section 334C of the <em>Criminal Code</em>, introduced by the <em>Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024</em>. Coercive control carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment and is by definition a domestic violence offence, bringing it within the show cause framework as a relevant offence under section 16(6)(b). This applies to conduct on or after 26 May 2025.
<strong>Contravention of a domestic violence order — with specified circumstances.</strong> A charge under section 177(2) of the <em>Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012</em> triggers show cause where: the contravention involved the use, threatened use, or attempted use of unlawful violence; or the defendant has a conviction involving violence within the preceding five years; or the defendant has a conviction for another DVO contravention within the preceding two years.
<strong>Organised crime and public safety orders.</strong> Contravening a control order under section 161ZI of the <em>Penalties and Sentences Act 1992</em>, or contravening a public safety order under section 32 of the <em>Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982</em>.