Queensland police to have power to issue on-the-spot domestic violence protection orders

Minister Dan Purdie says the plan would save ‘hundreds of thousands of hours’ of police time. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

The Queensland government says it will allow police officers to issue instant year-long domestic violence protection orders – a proposal that experts say could put vulnerable women at greater risk of harm.

The state’s police minister, Dan Purdie, says the plan would save “hundreds of thousands of hours” of police time.