DV laws risk abuse

Magistrate says system manipulated to gain court case advantages

DOMESTIC violence laws are being used as a “weapon” to obtain favourable rulings in the Family Court or permanent residency, an outgoing magistrate has said.

Magistrate Ron Kilner made the controversial comments in an address to the legal fraternity on his final day on the bench in the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday.

A migration expert has slammed the comments and said they could discourage people with valid claims coming forward.

Dr Kilner recognised that domestic violence was a scourge on the modern community and said extreme examples were seen daily.

But he said at the “most weighted” other end of the spectrum there were disputes that arose from living in a close domestic relationship.

“Increasingly, what was intended as a mechanism to keep the peace between parties who could not live in harmony together has become a weapon in the hands of an aggrieved,” Dr Kilner said.

He said this was used to achieve control over a respondent, advantage at a Family Court or for non-residents to obtain residential status without waiting the required time.

Under existing legislation, migrants on spousal visas can skip the two-year wait for permanent residency if they obtain a domestic violence order.

Dr Kilner said the balance had shifted and the positive outcomes that were intended had changed.

“The balance needs to be re- stored to give domestic violence laws the clout they need to assist in reducing this blight upon our community,” he said.

Chantal McNaught, a migration agent for the Robinabased Troy Migration, said earlier this year a recently migrated Brazilian woman, Fabiana Palhares, was killed on the Gold Coast.

“To make comments to try to discourage people tells people who do have potentially valid claims that are fearing for their lives that there’s scrutiny that’s going to be placed on you so there’s no use trying.”

Ms McNaught said any system was open to abuse but it was tough for migrants to get permanent residency after suffering domestic violence.

“We had one case that took about eight months for a person who had suffered physical violence against them.”

Superintendent Michelle Stenner said she had never heard of people abusing domestic violence laws in this way.

“There’s a certain standard of proof that needs to be adhered to show that domestic violence has occurred and is likely to occur again,” she said.