Separated parents could be denied access to children after court coronavirus move

Courts are ‘rubber-stamping’ temporary domestic violence orders amid the coronavirus crisis, a lawyer says, warning that separated parents could be denied access to their children.

SEPARATED parents could be denied access to their kids because courts are now ‘rubber stamping’ temporary domestic violence orders amid the coronavirus crisis, a Gold Coast lawyer says.

Domestic violence hearings in Queensland have been shut down under a practice direction issued last week by Chief Magistrate Terry Gardiner as courts do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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Jonathan Nyst, of Nyst Legal, said applications for interim domestic violence orders were expected to rise but would not be tested in court and could be exploited by vindictive ex-partners.

“Of course, protection of the victimised and vulnerable is paramount, but the simple fact remains that applicants do occasionally make false allegations and misuse the domestic violence system,” he said.

“So we have to be especially careful about making orders that will operate indefinitely, in circumstances where no wrongdoing has yet been properly tested or proved.”

Mr Nyst said courts could only issue temporary DV orders if they were satisfied the respondent had committed domestic violence.

But he said temporary orders were ‘routinely made on the strength of assertions in the written complaint, without any evidence being heard from either party’.

“In the past, courts have often taken the pragmatic approach of effectively rubber stamping temporary orders – just in case – until the allegations can be properly tested at trial,” he said.

“But with these new guidelines, any temporary order will be in place indefinitely. That’s a game-changer, particularly where the order affects access to children, and jointly-owned property.

“With all trials now being pushed off, out to the never-never, that makes the temporary order a crucial imposition on any respondent in these applications.”

Courts will still hear urgent DV applications, including applications to vary orders.