Gold Coast domestic violence courts review finds 11 per cent do not comply with orders

The state government has released a report on the Gold Coast’s domestic violence services – and what’s needed to drive down offending in the city.

More support services are needed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island victims of domestic violence, a report into the Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court has recommended.

A three-year long evaluation of the Gold Coast’s specialist domestic violence court has made seven recommendations of what can be done to improve the justice system for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Among the seven recommendations is improved support services for victims who experience domestic violence differently which includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, members of the LGBTQI+ community, people with a disability, older people and children.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman launches a report into how the Southport Domestic and Family Violence Court has been working. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The report also suggests more places in behavioural change programs for male perpetrators and support for factors which may contribute to offending behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, employment and a lack of housing.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman will handed down the report on a visit to the Southport Courthouse on Friday morning.

She said the state government will consider all the recommendations.

“Many of its recommendations intersect with recommendations of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce,” she said.

The evaluation period for the report ran from July 2017 to the end of March 2020 during which more than 10,600 domestic violence applications were lodged relating to 13,000 people.

“After an examination of its operations, this evaluation concluded the court is proving extremely successful,” she said.

“It is delivering a co-ordinated, respectful, and fair system, which prioritises the safety of the victim and their children, holds perpetrators accountable, and promotes changes in attitudes and behaviour.

“During the evaluation period the court made 722 intervention orders – this is where the court requires the perpetrator to attend a program to address their behaviour.

“The evaluation found that offenders complied with 89 per cent of DVOs, and there was some evidence that those who did breach their DVO complied with the order for a longer period of time if they went through the specialist DFV Court.”

The specialist court was trialled in Southport after the high profile murders of Tara Brown and Karina Locke in 2015.

It was made permanent in 2017 and since then the model has been rolled out to other centres across the state.

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