Bail (Domestic Violence) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2017 (QLD)

The Queensland LNP Opposition has introduced the Bail (Domestic Violence) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2017 in the form of a Private Members Bill into the Queensland Legislative Assembly. LNP Leader Tim Nicholls introduced the Bill in response to the recent murder of Teresa Bradford by her estranged husband in her home. The main focus of the Bill is to reverse the onus of proof for bail in domestic violence incidents, DV alert systems and GPS tracking devices.

Background to the Bill

The Bill has been introduced in response to what is perceived as a scourge of domestic violence taking place in Queensland; primarily the death of Teresa Bradford. As Mr Nicholls explained in his explanatory speech, “Teresa’s attacker was released on bail only just weeks earlier following an unsuccessful attempt on her life late last year.” He subsequently attacked and murder Ms Bradford in her home in front of her children. Mr Nicholls condemned the event but noted that “it is not an isolated case.” He went on to express his anguish at the fact that in 2016, Queensland accounted for a quarter of all domestic violence related deaths in Australia. He said:

The Bill

According to the explanatory notes to the Bill, the objectives of the Bill are to:

• Reverse the presumption of bail for an accused charged with domestic violence;
• Establish a special bail condition where a GPS tracker is installed on the accused charged with a relevant domestic violence offence to be imposed by a court or police officer;
• Establish a system where victims of domestic violence are notified when the accused applies for bail, is released on bail or receives a variation to a bail condition;
• Introduce a mandatory reporting provision to the parole system for when a prisoner applies for and receives parole so that a victim of domestic violence can receive information about a prisoner, even if the offence that the prisoner was convicted for is not a domestic violence offence; and
• Introduce a provision that would allow a bail decision to be urgently reviewed by a higher court.

Mr. Ncholls expressed his concern that most other Australian States have already passed similar bail reforms for domestic violence while Queensland has yet to do anything about it. He finished his speech by imploring the Assembly to “rise above politics and do what’s best for the victims and families of domestic violence.” 

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Bail (Domestic Violence) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2017, Bill, Explanatory Speech and Notes as published on LawOne

LNP Continues Fight for Domestic Violence Victims