Legislative amendments to enhance the accountability of perpetrators

On 6 March 2024, the Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 was passed by the Queensland Parliament, with all amendments having now commenced. The amendments include reforms that:

• introduce a criminal offence of coercive control
• introduce an affirmative model of consent and expressly reference stealthing as a circumstance of non-consent
• introduce a new offence of engaging in domestic violence or associated domestic violence to aid a respondent.

Additionally, the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 was passed on 22 February 2023. The amendments:

• modernise and strengthen the offence of unlawful stalking in the Criminal Code to better capture the broad range of tactics used by perpetrators
• broaden the definition of domestic and family violence to recognise behaviour that occurs over time and should be considered in the context of the relationship as a whole
• strengthen the court’s ability to hear and decide cross applications for protection orders to ensure the protection of the person most at risk
• broaden the court’s ability to award costs where a party has intentionally used proceedings as a means of committing or continuing domestic violence
• strengthen the consideration of previous domestic violence or criminal history
• bring domestic violence complainants and other witnesses within the protected witness scheme
• allow for the giving of jury directions about misconceptions about domestic violence and the use of expert evidence on the nature and effects of domestic violence.

The Queensland Law Reform Commission is reviewing particular criminal defences and will give their recommendations to the Government by 1 December 2025.