Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012

Increased penalties for breach offences

The Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 has increased the maximum
penalties for breach offences.

The general maximum penalty for the offence of contravening a domestic violence order
has been increased from 12 months imprisonment or 40 penalty units ($4,000) to 2 years
imprisonment or 60 penalty units ($6,000).

This is also the maximum penalty for the offences of contravening a police protection notice
and contravening release conditions.

The maximum penalty is increased to 3 years imprisonment or 120 penalty units ($12,000)
for a respondent who has been convicted within the previous 5 years of an offence of
contravening a domestic violence order, police protection notice or release conditions.
Three years is the maximum term of imprisonment that a Magistrates Court can impose for
any criminal offence.

The increase in penalties will provide courts with greater scope to impose sentences which
reflect the range of behaviours and offending histories that come before the court.

Some of the behaviours constituting a breach may not, ordinarily, be regarded as

criminal behaviours. For example, an order can be made against a person for
behaviours which do not amount to a criminal offence but which constitute emotional or
economic abuse under the Act. If the person breaches a no-contact condition, the
persons behaviour as a whole may not have amounted to an offence under the
Criminal Code. However, it is still appropriate that these types of breaches result in
criminal sanctions in order to ensure that the conditions on domestic violence orders
are taken seriously and that the integrity of the court process is maintained.

Other behaviours which constitute breaches can also constitute serious offences under
the Criminal Code, where the maximum penalty exceeds the maximum penalty for a

Date: 07/2012
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breach offence. For example, the offence of Assault Occasioning Bodily Harm carries
a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.

In these situations, police officers are required to investigate the offence and, if there is
sufficient evidence, also charge a Criminal Code offence as well as the breach offence.
There are several references in the Act to ensuring police consider criminal options
that may be available to them.

Sentencing guidelines have not been provided in the Act, given that the Penalties and
Sentences Act 1992 already sets out detailed sentencing principles for courts when
they are sentencing offenders.

Each particular case will involve a multitude of issues relating to the offending behaviour,
the impact of the offending on the victim and the personal circumstances of the offender.
Breaches which involve less serious behaviour would generally result in a lower penalty
than those which involve serious criminal behaviour.

Date: 07/2012
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