Director-General NSW Department of Community Services & JLM

The case of *Director-General NSW Department of Community Services & JLM* concerned an appeal to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, regarding an application for an apprehended domestic violence order. The Director-General of the NSW Department of Community Services sought the order against JLM on behalf of a child, A. The primary judge had dismissed the application, finding that the evidence presented did not establish that JLM had caused A to suffer actual or apprehended domestic violence.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge had erred in law by failing to properly consider and apply the relevant provisions of the *Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007* (NSW) in assessing the evidence. Specifically, the court had to determine if the evidence, when viewed in accordance with the statutory framework, supported the making of an apprehended domestic violence order.

The Court of Appeal found that the primary judge had misconstrued the nature of the evidence and the statutory test. The court held that the primary judge had placed undue emphasis on the need for direct evidence of JLM's actions causing harm to A, rather than considering the broader context and the cumulative effect of JLM's behaviour as it impacted A. The court reiterated that apprehended domestic violence orders are protective measures and that the test is whether the applicant has a reasonable apprehension of future harm, which can be established by a pattern of behaviour, even if individual incidents are not definitively proven to have caused direct harm. The court allowed the appeal, finding that the evidence did support the making of an apprehended domestic violence order.