On this page
A DVO on its own does not show on a police check in QLD, because it is not a criminal conviction.
Queensland Courts puts it plainly. A DVO is a civil court order, so it will not appear on the respondent's criminal history. The Queensland Police Service says the same thing from its side, that a respondent does not receive a criminal record when a protection order is made.
That is the answer most people are searching for at midnight after being served, and it is reassuring, although it is only half the picture and the other half is where people get caught out.
Where a criminal record comes from
The record comes from breaking the order. Disobeying a DVO is a criminal offence, and Queensland Courts states that a conviction for it does appear on your criminal history. Being served or having an order made does not put a record on you. A breach charge that results in a conviction does.
That distinction matters more than it sounds, because the most common way people breach an order is completely undramatic, such as answering a message or going back to the house for their tools. Our article on breaching a domestic violence order sets out what police have to prove and where these charges come from.
Checks other than a standard police check
Plenty of people who search this want to know whether the people who matter to them will find out, which is a different question from whether a DVO shows on a standard police check, and that difference is what trips people up.
A blue card check looks wider than a police check. Queensland Government material on blue card risk assessments lists domestic violence offences or orders among the information that can be assessed, and specifically includes domestic violence orders, police protection notices and police protection directions. So if you work with children, or you volunteer with a sporting club, an order can be relevant to your card even though it is not on your criminal history.
Weapons licensing is affected directly. Queensland Courts describes a temporary protection order as suspending a weapons licence and a final order as cancelling it, with a period of up to five years during which you cannot hold another. Nobody needs to run a police check to find that out, because it happens to your licence.
Some roles rely on what you tell them rather than on a database. Plenty of employers, registration bodies and licensing schemes ask you to disclose things directly, and what they ask about is not always limited to convictions. Read the question you are being asked rather than assuming it maps onto what a police check would return.
Does an order show up if you go interstate
An order follows you interstate. Under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, which Queensland Courts records as commencing on 25 November 2017, a domestic violence order made in one jurisdiction is automatically recognised and enforceable in any other Australian state or territory.
So moving to another state does not leave the order behind you, and it does not leave the conditions behind you either. If you are subject to an order and you are planning a move, that is a thing to get advice about before you go, not after.
What this means if you are deciding what to do at court
People sometimes decide to fight an order purely because they believe it will give them a criminal record, and then find out the fight was never about that.
That is worth knowing before you commit to a contested hearing, because it changes what you are protecting. If your real concern is a blue card, a weapons licence, a visa or a professional registration, whether an order is criminal matters less than the specific conditions, how long it runs and what your particular scheme asks about.
It also cuts the other way. Because an order does not itself create a criminal record, some people treat it as a piece of paper that does not matter much, and then breach it without meaning to, which leads to the record they were worried about in the first place.
Our article on responding to a domestic violence order application goes through the options at a first mention and what each one costs you.
What to do this week if you have been served
Read every condition on the document, including the ones that seem obvious. The conditions bind you from the moment you are served, not from your court date.
Work out which of your licences, cards or registrations could be affected, and check what each one asks about. That is a specific question with a specific answer, and it is better asked now than discovered at a renewal.
If a condition is going to make your working life impossible, say so before the order is made rather than afterwards. Conditions are often more negotiable than whether an order is made at all.
Do not contact the other person to sort it out between you, because that is the single most common way a civil order turns into a criminal charge.
If you have been served in Cairns and your job is on the line
An order and a criminal record are different things, but an order can still reach your work through a licence, a card or a registration. Which of those applies to you depends on what you do.
We act for respondents in domestic and family violence matters in Cairns and across Far North Queensland. What an order would mean for your work is a specific question, and it is better answered before your court date.
If a domestic violence order in Cairns could affect your job, a card or a licence, speak with us before your court date.
This article is general information about Queensland law. It is not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts, so speak with us about yours.
When you call Coral Coast Law, you speak directly with principal Joseph Rahim, and he handles your matter himself. Your first consultation is free and confidential.
About Joseph
