DV Charges
Court Process From Charge to Sentence
If you have been charged with a domestic violence offence in Queensland, the court process has several stages — and nothing is decided at the first one. Before any outcome is reached, the evidence has to be gathered, your lawyer needs to review it, and decisions need to be made about how to proceed. Those decisions shape the outcome more than the charge itself. Other pages cover what the DV flag means for your charge , your bail conditions , and what happens if a protection order is breached . This page is about the court process for the criminal charge — what happens at each stage, and where the decisions that affect your result get made.
What Happens When You Are Charged
When police charge you with a domestic violence offence, two things happen at once. First, you are either released on bail — with conditions that take effect immediately — or held in custody until your first court appearance. If you were not arrested, you received a notice to appear setting out the charge and your court date. Either way, bail conditions are almost certainly in place. What each condition requires — and what counts as a breach — is covered on the bail conditions page. Second, police apply for a domestic violence protection order — usually called a DVO. This is a separate court order that sets rules about your behaviour toward the other person — things like no contact, not attending certain locations, or not approaching within a certain distance. A protection order is not a criminal charge. But the conditions are legally enforceable from the moment you are served, and breaching any of them is a criminal offence . The protection order runs alongside the criminal charge. They are dealt with in the same court, often on the same day, but they are separate matters with separate outcomes. The criminal charge can be dismissed and the protection order can still be made. And the protection order does not end when the charge is resolved — a final order lasts up to five years. Both need to be dealt with from the start. If your charge is serious enough to trigger what is called a show cause obligation — choking , coercive control , or another offence carrying a maximum penalty of seven years or more — you start from a position of custody rather than bail. Getting bail requires a formal show cause application with an affidavit and written submissions. It is not dealt with by standing up and asking.
Your First Court Date
Your first court date is called a mention. It is not a hearing — no evidence is called, no witnesses give evidence, and nobody asks whether you are guilty or not guilty. A mention is an administrative appearance where the court checks where the matter stands and sets the direction for what comes next. At a first mention in the Cairns Magistrates Court : Bail is confirmed or varied. If you are on bail, your conditions are reviewed. If you are in custody, this is when a bail application is heard. The protection order is addressed. The court deals with the DVO at the same time as the criminal charge. You can consent to the order — which is not an admission of the criminal charge — ask for more time, or indicate you intend to contest it. See Served with a DVO — What to Do First for what each option means and what to expect. The prosecution is directed to hand over its evidence. Police are required to provide the full brief of evidence — everything they are relying on to prove the charge. If the brief has not been served, the matter is adjourned, usually for four to six weeks. Most DV matters are adjourned at the first mention. Your matter will come back to court more than once before anything is decided. A straightforward guilty plea typically takes two to three months from the date of the charge. A defended hearing takes longer. Do not plead guilty at a mention because you feel pressured or because you want it over with. The evidence has not been reviewed. The police version of events has not been checked. People who rush to finalise without seeing the evidence end up sentenced on a version of facts they did not agree with. If you do not attend, the Magistrate can issue a warrant — and failing to appear is a separate criminal offence under section 33 of the Bail Act 1980 (Qld). For most mentions, Sacha can appear on your behalf. For a hearing or sentence, you must attend personally.
The Evidence Against You
Before any decision can be made about your plea, the prosecution must hand over the evidence it is relying on. This is called the prosecution brief. Until Sacha has reviewed it in full, no informed decision about how to proceed can be made. The brief typically includes: The police summary of facts — called the QP9. This is the document the Magistrate reads if you plead guilty. It sets out the prosecution's version of what happened. If that version is wrong or exaggerated, it needs to be corrected before a plea is entered — because your sentence is based on what this document says. Body-worn camera footage. Police activate body-worn cameras at domestic violence attendances. The footage captures what was actually said and done at the scene — and it often tells a different story from the written statements. Witness statements, photographs, medical evidence, and your full criminal history. The brief regularly reveals things that were not apparent when you were charged. Footage that does not match the complaint. Injuries inconsistent with what is alleged. A police summary that overstates what happened. Sacha reviews every QP9 line by line. Where it is inaccurate or overstated, she negotiates with the prosecution to have it corrected before any plea is entered. The version of facts that goes before the court should reflect what actually happened — not the worst possible reading of the police account.
Guilty Plea or Defended Hearing
Once the evidence has been reviewed, the question is whether to plead guilty or defend the charge. This is the decision that determines how the rest of the process plays out. Sacha advises on prospects based on the actual evidence — not a general sense of whether the charge seems unfair. When a guilty plea is the right course. If the evidence supports the charge and there is no realistic defence, an early guilty plea produces the best sentencing outcome. The court gives credit for an early plea — it demonstrates acceptance of responsibility and spares the complainant from giving evidence. The earlier the plea, the more credit. Pleading guilty does not mean accepting the police version of events. The QP9 — the police summary the Magistrate reads at sentencing — is negotiable. Sacha negotiates the summary with the prosecution and has it corrected where it is inaccurate before the plea is entered. What the Magistrate reads directly affects the sentence. When defending is the right course. If the evidence does not support the charge — or does not support the charge as it has been laid — a defended hearing is appropriate. Situations that arise in DV matters: The footage contradicts the complaint. Body-worn camera footage does not match the written account — or contradicts what the complainant told police at the scene. Self-defence. You used force, but the force was reasonable in the circumstances. A complete defence if made out. The conduct does not amount to the offence charged. An assault charge where there is no evidence of actual injury. A common assault where the contact was trivial or accidental. In a defended hearing, the prosecution calls its witnesses. Sacha cross-examines each one. You may give evidence — you are not required to. If the prosecution cannot prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, you are acquitted. No conviction, no penalty, no DV notation on your record. For the most serious charges — choking , grievous bodily harm, coercive control — the matter starts in the Magistrates Court but moves to the District Court for trial. Sacha handles the Magistrates Court stages. District Court representation is quoted separately.
Sentencing
If you plead guilty — or are found guilty after a hearing — the court imposes a sentence. The range for domestic violence offences is wide. Where you land within it depends on the charge, the evidence, your history, and the material put before the Magistrate. No conviction recorded. Under section 12 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), the Magistrate can find the offence proved but choose not to record a conviction. This is the best outcome on a guilty plea. Courts exercise this discretion more cautiously in DV matters — but it is available. Even without a conviction, the DV notation still applies (see below). Good behaviour bond. A promise to be of good behaviour for a set period. Breach it and you are re-sentenced. Probation. A supervised order for up to three years. In DV matters, conditions typically include a domestic violence intervention programme. Community service. Unpaid work completed within a set period. Imprisonment. A term which may be wholly or partly suspended. A wholly suspended sentence means you leave court — but the jail term hangs over you for the operational period. Reoffend and it can be activated. What shifts the outcome: The injury. A push with no physical injury is in a fundamentally different position from an assault causing fractures. What happened matters more than what the charge is called. Your history. A first offence with no record sits at the lower end of the range. A second or third DV offence — especially with protection order breaches in between — sits much higher. What you have done since the charge. Voluntary enrolment in a DV intervention programme, counselling, or anger management before the hearing demonstrates to the court that you have taken the matter seriously. Courts respond to action, not intention. The sentencing material. What moves the outcome within the range is the material Sacha puts before the court — written submissions on the offence and your circumstances, character references, programme completion certificates, employment letters. Thorough material means a wider range of available outcomes. Thin material means the Magistrate works from the charge, the facts, and your history alone.
After Court
The court appearance is not the end of it. Several consequences follow — some lasting years. The DV notation on your criminal history. Under section 12A of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 , every domestic violence offence is recorded as such on your criminal history — whether or not a conviction is recorded. Even in the best outcome, the notation is there. It is visible to police, prosecutors, and courts in any future proceedings. It affects firearms licence eligibility, Blue Card screening, and your position in any family law matter. The protection order continues. The DVO does not end when the criminal charge is resolved. A final protection order lasts five years by default under section 97 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 . Every condition on the order remains enforceable for the full duration. Breaching any condition — even years after the criminal matter is finished — is a criminal offence carrying up to three years' imprisonment, or five years if you have a prior domestic violence conviction. The charge may be over. The order is not. Compliance obligations. If your sentence includes probation, you report to a probation officer and attend any required programmes. Community service hours must be completed within the set period. A suspended sentence means any further offending during the operational period can bring you back to serve the original term. Appeals. If the sentence is excessive or there are grounds to challenge the verdict, an appeal can be lodged to the District Court . You have one month from the date of the sentence under section 222 of the Justices Act 1886 (Qld). Sacha advises on whether an appeal has realistic prospects — not every unfavourable outcome warrants one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the court process take?
A straightforward guilty plea — where the evidence has been reviewed and sentencing submissions are prepared — is usually finalised within two to three months of the charge. A defended hearing takes longer — four to eight months depending on court availability. The most serious charges, which are dealt with in the District Court rather than the Magistrates Court, can take twelve months or more.
Do I have to attend every court date?
For most Magistrates Court mentions — the administrative appearances where no evidence is called — Sacha can appear without you being present. But if the matter is listed for sentencing or a hearing, you must attend personally. Failing to appear is an offence under section 33 of the Bail Act 1980 (Qld), and the court can issue a warrant for your arrest.
Can the complainant drop the charges?
The complainant does not decide whether charges proceed — the prosecution does. In Queensland, criminal charges are prosecuted by the state through Queensland Police Prosecutions or the Director of Public Prosecutions. A complainant can withdraw their statement or say they do not wish to proceed, but the prosecution makes the final decision. In domestic violence matters, the prosecution regularly proceeds even where the complainant does not want them to.
What happens to the protection order if the criminal charge is dismissed?
The protection order and the criminal charge are separate proceedings. The criminal charge requires proof beyond reasonable doubt — the highest standard. The protection order is a civil matter decided on the balance of probabilities — a lower standard. Your criminal charge can be dismissed entirely, and the protection order can still be made. They do not depend on each other.
Will I get a criminal record?
If you plead guilty or are found guilty, the court has discretion under section 12 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 to not record a conviction — meaning you do not get a criminal conviction for the offence. Whether that discretion is exercised depends on the charge, the evidence, your history, and the sentencing material put before the court. Even if no conviction is recorded, the DV notation under section 12A still applies — the offence is recorded on your criminal history as a domestic violence offence regardless.
What is a QP9?
The QP9 is the police summary of facts — the document the Magistrate reads when sentencing you. It sets out the prosecution's version of what happened. If the QP9 overstates the conduct or contains errors, your sentence is based on that version. Sacha reviews every QP9 and, where it is inaccurate, negotiates with the prosecution to have it corrected before any plea is entered.
What if my charge is dealt with in the District Court?
The most serious domestic violence charges — choking , grievous bodily harm, coercive control — start in the Magistrates Court but move to the District Court for trial or sentence. Sacha handles the Magistrates Court stages, including bail, the protection order, and any early procedural decisions. District Court representation is quoted separately. The early decisions still shape the outcome.
Fixed Fees
- DV Criminal Charge — $4,800
- Show Cause Bail — $5,500
- Summary Hearing — $5,500
- Bail Application — $3,800
- DVO — Consent — $3,300