Grace v Peter

The matter of Grace v Peter came before the Queensland Court of Appeal. The applicant, Grace, sought a judicial review of a decision made by the Magistrates Court to prevent her from withdrawing her application for a domestic violence order (DVO). The primary issue before the court was whether the Magistrate had the jurisdiction to refuse the applicant's request to withdraw her DVO application and whether this refusal constituted an exercise of improper power. The applicant argued that she had the right to withdraw her application orally at the beginning of the hearing, and that the Magistrate did not have the authority to dismiss the application without first deciding whether the application should proceed.

The court considered the statutory framework governing domestic violence protection orders and the procedural rules applicable to the withdrawal of such applications. It examined whether the Magistrate had the jurisdiction to refuse the withdrawal and whether such a refusal was an exercise of improper power. The court held that the applicant did have the right to withdraw her application orally at the beginning of the hearing, and that the Magistrate did not have the jurisdiction to refuse this request and subsequently hear and dismiss the application. The court found that the Magistrate had exercised power improperly by not allowing the withdrawal of the DVO application.

As a result, the court declared that the application for a domestic violence protection order was withdrawn on 1 November 2023. All orders of the Magistrates Court made in respect of the application on or subsequent to 1 November 2023 were set aside. The court scheduled a hearing for the parties to discuss costs, if not agreed upon beforehand, on 22 May 2024, with the option for out-of-town parties to appear via video link.