Part 3 of our 3-part series on Queensland’s Police Protection Direction laws (commenced 1 January 2026).

Police Protection Directions (PPDs) are designed to provide immediate, long‑term protection in domestic and family violence matters.

But from a criminal law perspective, the crucial point is this:

A PPD is not a criminal conviction and it is not the same as a court order. However, breaching it is a criminal offence.

So even if you believe a PPD should never have been issued, or if the conditions are unfair, unworkable, or based on incorrect information, it does not give you permission to ignore it while you challenge it. It might, however, give you grounds to challenge the PPD.

In this article we explain police review, Magistrates Court review, and appeals. We will discuss what each option can realistically achieve, how the timelines work, and some potential traps.

Key takeaways on Challenging a PPD

• Absent an extension, a police review application usually must be made within 28 days after the written notice stating the grounds for issuing the PPD (this may or may not be the same time you were notified of the PPD) is served on the respondent.
• Only certain people can apply for police review. A “named person” (see our general article here) has limited grounds (removal of their name, or change to conditions relating to them).
• A police review is decided on the circumstances that existed when the PPD was issued. You cannot, in a police review, argue that “things are better now”.
• A court review can be started at any time while the PPD is in force. It is filed in the Magistrates Court using the approved form(s) and there is no filing fee.
• Applying for court review ends any police review that has been started but not yet decided.
• Neither requesting police review nor applying for court review automatically suspends (“stays”) the PPD. It remains enforceable until it ends, is changed, or is set aside.
• Even if a PPD is later revoked on police review or set aside by the court, you can still be charged for an alleged contravention that occurred before the revocation/set‑aside.
• If you are facing, or may face, a contravention charge, get advice early.

Important: The Aggrieved Can’t Consent to a Breach

Respondents can be charged after informal contact that “seemed okay” at the time. For example, an apology text, a phone call about parenting arrangements, or turning up to collect belongings.

This leads to an important issue: the aggrieved cannot give you permission to breach a PPD. Once the PPD is issued, it’s not up to them to decide whether it still applies.

Even if the aggrieved invites contact, the safest approach is to behave as if the conditions in any PPD still apply exactly as written.

If the conditions are stopping practical arrangements (housing, property collection, child changeover, work, etc.), the answer is usually not to work around it, but to get legal advice and consider options for review.

A Quick Reality Check

Reviews and appeals are difficult.

What we set out below are the processes and options for review and appeal of a PPD, however we don’t want to overstate the likelihood of succeeding in those processes, absent a clear error or arguable basis that the PPD should be set aside.

As these laws (at the time of writing) are fairly new, we also don’t have a substantial body of law to help us assess what circumstances will, or won’t, be likely to sway a Court on the topic of appeals from the issue of a PPD.  The legislation gives some guidance, but ultimately only time will tell what kinds of approaches the Courts will take.

For that reason, always seek legal advice to accompany any decision you might make when it comes to reviewing a PPD or appealing a Magistrates Court decision that you are not satisfied with.

Your PPD Review options at a glance

• Option 1 – Police review: an internal review by a senior reviewing officer. Mostly this is the option for correcting clear errors or reconsidering the decision based on facts that existed at the time of issue.
• Option 2 – Court review in the Magistrates Court. This essentially diverts the entire subject matter into a court, and while it can get the PPD set aside after a Hearing, it can also result in a protection order.
• Option 3 – Appeal: if you are aggrieved by the court’s decision on the court review, you may appeal to the District Court within strict time limits. You can’t go straight to the District Court to appeal your PPD directly.

Option 1: Police review of a PPD (internal review)

A police review is a statutory safeguard built into the PPD scheme.

It is conducted by a reviewing officer (typically a Senior Sergeant or Inspector) who must be authorised to conduct PPD reviews and must not have been involved in investigating the incident.

Who can apply for police review?

The following people may apply for a police review:

• The respondent;
• The aggrieved;
• An authorised person for the aggrieved (an adult authorised in writing); and
• A named person (with limits).

A named person’s right is narrower: they can generally only seek review to (1) remove their name from the PPD, or (2) change conditions that relate to them specifically.

Time limit: when must you apply?

The prescribed period is 28 days after the written notice stating the grounds for issuing the PPD is served on the respondent.

The police commissioner can agree to a longer period, but you should not assume an extension will be granted.

What does the reviewer consider (and what can’t they consider)?

A police review is decided on the circumstances that existed at the time the PPD was issued — including circumstances that existed then but were not known or considered by the issuing officer.

Importantly, the reviewing officer cannot consider events after the PPD was issued.

So a police review is typically not the right process to argue that the parties have reconciled, that there has been “no trouble since”, or that conditions have become inconvenient later.

What happens after a police review starts?

As soon as practicable after the review starts, police must notify both the respondent and aggrieved of the review and invite them to make submissions within a stated period of at least 7 days. Police may also invite a named person to provide submissions.

Police can ask for further information, but you are generally not compelled to provide it. If you are worried about self‑incrimination because criminal charges may be laid, get legal advice before providing a statement or detailed version of events.

How quickly must the police review be decided?

The reviewing officer must decide the review within 28 days after the request or application for review is made (unless a court review is commenced before the police review is decided, in which case the officer’s review process ends).

This obviously means that if the Police request submissions from you, and you intend to make some, you should get them submitted in the time requested – delays may adversely impact the review prospects.

What outcomes are possible on police review?

On police review, the reviewing officer may decide to:

• Confirm the PPD (no changes);
• Revoke the PPD and issue a new PPD (with the same or different conditions and/or named persons);
• Revoke the PPD and issue a Police Protection Notice (a different type of notice, which pushes the matter into court);
• Revoke the PPD and apply to a court for a protection order;
• Revoke the PPD and take other appropriate action; or
• Revoke the PPD and take no other action.

Essentially – there are a lot of options.

If the PPD is revoked on police review, it is taken never to have been issued and it does not form part of the respondent’s domestic violence history. However, a prosecution can still be started or continued for an alleged contravention that happened before the PPD was revoked.

Does a police review suspend the PPD?

No. The PPD remains enforceable during police review. That means a person can be charged for contravening the PPD even while the review is pending.

Option 2: Court review in the Magistrates Court

A court review is different. It is an independent process in the Magistrates Court and it will always pull the entire issue into a court process. This may or may not be what you want, and it’s worth getting advice on the pros and cons of that in your specific circumstances.

Who can apply for court review?

While the PPD is in force, the following people may apply to the Magistrates Court for a review:

• The respondent;
• The aggrieved;
• An authorised person for the aggrieved (adult authorised in writing); or
• A person acting for the aggrieved under another Act.

A key difference to police review is that a named person is not generally listed as an eligible applicant for court review, although named persons may still be involved in the court process.

When can you apply?

A court review can be applied for at any time while the PPD is in force. There is no filing fee.

What forms are used?

Queensland Courts provide approved forms for court review of a PPD. In general terms:

• All applicants use Form DV59A (Application for Court Review of a Police Protection Direction).
• If you are the respondent (meaning, to the application not necessarily the PPD) and you want the outcome of the court review to include a protection order naming you as the aggrieved, you also file Form DV59B (Respondent Application for Protection Order).

If you have legal representation, your lawyer will usually prepare the forms and supporting material and advise you on what realistic options are available to you in your situation.

What happens after you file the court review application?

The legislation sets out a fairly tight timeline:

• After you file, the clerk of the court must give a copy of your application to the police commissioner as soon as practicable.
• Within 1 business day (or as soon as practicable), the police commissioner must file key documents in court, including a copy of the PPD and the written notice stating the grounds for issuing it.
• The court must list the matter for hearing at the earliest opportunity and not later than 14 business days after the police commissioner files those documents.
• Police will then serve the filed documents on the applicant, the other eligible parties, and each named person.

The court review is designed to be dealt with quickly. But, as we’ll keep mentioning, you should still assume that the PPD remains enforceable unless the court orders otherwise.

What does the court decide on a court review?

The court review process will always involve a protection order pathway, with police as the applicant and the same aggrieved and respondent as the PPD.

What we mean is this: once the court review is filed and the police commissioner files the required documents, the PPD itself is treated as an application for a protection order. The court then applies the usual DVO principles when deciding the application.

If the respondent’s court review application seeks a protection order against the aggrieved in favour of the respondent, the legislation treats that as a cross application — and the court can hear the original and cross application together.

What outcomes are possible on court review?

In addition to the usual orders the court can make on a protection order application, the court can also:

• Set aside the PPD;
• Order that the PPD ends on a stated day; or
• Dismiss the application (meaning the PPD continues unaffected).

If the court sets aside the PPD, it is taken never to have been issued and it does not form part of the respondent’s domestic violence history. However, as with police review, a prosecution can still be started or continued for an alleged contravention that occurred before the PPD was set aside.

If the court dismisses the application, another court review application by the same applicant can only be brought with the leave of the court.

Does a court review suspend the PPD?

No. As with police review, filing a court review does not stop the PPD operating. If you need an urgent change, you should speak with a lawyer about what practical options exist and how to present the matter to the court as soon as possible.

Police review vs court review: which one makes sense?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Police review may be useful where:

• There is a clear, demonstrable, factual mistake (not just a strong opinion of the respondent) that existed at the time the PPD was issued (for example, incorrect address details, incorrect naming of a person, or conditions that do not match the risk profile).
• You need a fast internal reconsideration based on information that existed at the time but was missed.
• A named person wants to be removed or wants conditions relating to them reconsidered.

Court review may be appropriate where:

• You want an independent decision-maker to assess the evidence and the appropriateness of protection (and/or the conditions).
• The dispute is about the underlying allegations or risk assessment, not just a technical correction.
• You need the court to make orders that police cannot make on a PPD (or you anticipate the matter should properly be in court).

Important: if you commence a court review while a police review is underway (but not decided), the police review must be discontinued.

You can, however, undertake a police review first, and if not decided in your favour then proceed to a Magistrates Court review of the PPD.

Option 3: Appeals to the District Court (after the Magistrate’s decision)

If you are aggrieved by the Magistrates Court’s decision on the court review, the Act provides a right of appeal.

Who can appeal, and which decisions are appealable?

A person “aggrieved” by certain court decisions may appeal. More often than not this will be the person who sought orders from the Court that is was not prepared to grant.

This includes a decision on an application relating to a police protection direction made in the court review process.

Which court hears the appeal?

The District Court hears appeals of this kind.

Time limit and how to start an appeal

An appeal is started by filing a notice of appeal with the District Court. The notice must generally be filed within 28 days after the decision under appeal is made.

If the decision was made in the absence of the appellant (for example, if they did not attend the decision hearing), the 28‑day period runs from the earlier of (1) service of the decision on the appellant, or (2) the day a police officer tells the appellant about the existence of the decision.

The appellant must also serve a copy of the notice on other persons entitled to appeal and on the police commissioner, and file a copy in the court that made the decision. The District Court can extend the filing period, but you should not rely on getting an extension and assume you probably won’t.

Does filing an appeal ‘pause’ the decision?

No. As with all other forms of review, starting an appeal does not automatically affect the operation of the original decision.

How are appeals decided?

Appeals are usually decided on the evidence and proceedings that were before the Magistrates Court in the original decision.

In theory, the District Court can order that the appeal be heard afresh (in whole or in part). In practice, there would need to be special circumstances for that to happen, as the court is not generally inclined to let parties continually introduce new evidence at each step.

The District court may confirm the decision, vary it, set it aside and substitute another decision, or remit (send) the matter back to the Magistrates Court.

Charged with contravening a PPD? Treat it as two matters, not one

A review (police or court) is about whether the PPD should remain in force and on what terms.

A contravention charge, however, is a criminal prosecution about whether you breached a condition at a particular time.

While they might relate to the same document, they are not the same thing.

Challenging the PPD does not automatically end a contravention charge, and successfully defending a contravention charge does not affect the validity of the PPD.

Our general suggestions (subject to your individual circumstances) are:

• Comply with the PPD strictly while any review is pending.
• Preserve relevant evidence: messages, screenshots, call logs, social media messages, location data, CCTV, witness details.
• Write down critical dates and information: when you were first told about the PPD, when you received the document, and exactly what you were told about the conditions.
• Get legal advice before participating in a police interview or providing a written account for a review.
• If the conditions are unworkable (children, housing, work), get advice about the safest legal pathway rather than taking action that may amount to a breach.

Final thoughts

Consistent with the underlying ideology that lead us to this point, PPDs are designed to be fast, practical, and immediately enforceable.

If you are the respondent on a PPD, the safest approach is to assume that every condition is enforceable immediately and to get advice before you do anything that could be interpreted as contact or approach.

How our criminal lawyers can help

We can provide urgent advice on compliance, input about police review vs court review, representation at a court review hearing, and representation if you are interviewed, charged, or required to appear in court for a contravention or related domestic violence offence.

If you have been served with a PPD, or you are facing a contravention charge, contact our criminal law team as soon as possible.

Series links

• Part 1: Police Protection Directions (PPDs) in Queensland — what changed on 1 January 2026 and why it matters. (Internal link)
• Part 2: How police issue a PPD — the legal test, safeguards, conditions, and common contravention traps. (Internal link)
• Part 3: Challenging a PPD — police review, court review and appeals. (you are here)