What is domestic and family violence?

Domestic and family violence occurs when one person uses violent or abusive behaviour towards another.

Contributing factors to domestic and family violence may include:

• physical abuse
• damage to property
• sexual abuse
• verbal abuse
• harassment or intimidation
• financial abuse, or
• threatening any of the above.

In domestic and family violence incidents in Queensland, the legal term used for the person affected by domestic and family violence, (the victim, survivor or complainant) is ‘the aggrieved’.

The person who uses domestic and family violence, (the perpetrator, offender, abuser) is referred to as ‘the respondent’.

Throughout this website the terms ‘aggrieved’ and ‘respondent’ will be used.

In order for an incident to come under the provisions of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act, 1989, a domestic relationship must exist between the aggrieved and the respondent.

However, if a person is experiencing violence and they are not in one of the following relationships there may still be action they can take under other legislation.

A domestic relationship includes:

• spousal relationship 
• either married or living together
• the biological parents of a child/children
• includes same-sex couples
• intimate personal relationship 
• two people who are in an established relationship
• family relationship
• two people related either by blood or marriage, or
• two people who consider themselves to be relatives, and
• informal care relationship 
• a person is dependent on the other for help with day-to-day living activities, (not including a relationship where a carer is paid or contracted by a third party).