Queensland Labor has warned of corruption risks in plans to expand police domestic violence powers, after an LNP-controlled parliamentary committee recommended the bill proceed without additional safeguards.
The concern centres on proposed changes to police protection directions, which would give officers broader discretion to issue domestic and family violence orders outside the courts.
The Crime and Corruption Commission raised particular concerns about removing restrictions that prevent police from issuing a direction when another officer is involved as either the alleged perpetrator or victim.
In a submission to the committee, acting commission chair Kathryn McMillan said the restriction had been intended to ensure domestic violence matters involving police were dealt with by a court rather than internally.
“The Bill removes the protection this exclusion provides,” Ms McMillan wrote. “There is no clear rationale for the change in policy position from 2025, nor provision for additional safeguards to manage the potential risks that may arise in circumstances where a police officer is involved in a DFV matter.”
Concerns over expanded police domestic violence powers
The commission said discretionary police powers carried inherent corruption risks in cases involving officers. It also said removing the existing safeguard appeared inconsistent with recommendations from the 2022 Richards Inquiry, including the establishment of a Police Integrity Unit.
The Crisafulli Government introduced the bill in September after police criticised the existing scheme, established late last year, as too onerous to be useful. The scheme was due to be reviewed within two years but has not yet undergone that review.
Under the proposed changes, most restrictions on police protection directions would be removed. Directions could last for up to three years rather than one, while the existing powers intended as a temporary measure until an urgent court hearing could be held would be repealed.
Police would generally be required to issue a direction when releasing someone from custody, unless that person was considered most in need of protection. A direction issued in error could also be removed from a person’s domestic violence history.
The bill would retain a requirement for police to file a direction with a court in certain circumstances, including when related proceedings were already under way. It would also increase penalties for repeat breaches of domestic violence orders and expand a statewide electronic monitoring trial.
Labor MPs said they supported measures intended to give police better tools to protect victims, survivors and the wider community, but argued the changes needed to be based on evidence and balanced against the risks involved in domestic violence responses.
“This bill, without additional safeguards, does not appear to meet that threshold,” they wrote in a statement of reservation attached to the committee report.
The Victims’ Commissioner also called for the Police Integrity Unit to be established “as soon as possible to enhance victim and community confidence”. Labor MPs said Attorney-General Deb Frecklington had had more than two years to act on the recommendation, but the Government was still considering it.
The committee recommended that the bill pass in its current form. The Government holds a majority in Queensland Parliament and does not need Opposition or crossbench support to secure its passage when parliament returns for a three-day sitting week on November 17.
