The Palaszczuk Government has committed to spending $11 million in capital works funding over two years to establish Domestic and Family Violence Courts in Beenleigh. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said project planning had commenced and $5.5 million was allocated for the works in the 2017-18 budget.

Mrs D’Ath said the new works were expected to be completed in the 2018-2019 financial year; the budget also funds a dedicated Magistrate for the facility.

“The new domestic and family violence court at Beenleigh is an expansion of the domestic and family violence court approach that has been successfully trialled at Southport,” Mrs D’Ath said.

Recent changes introduced by our Government mean domestic and family violence protection orders now last for five years instead of two, unless a court orders otherwise, giving Aggrieved’s more than double the previous order period.