A Queensland court can include an "ouster" condition in a protection order - prohibiting the respondent from remaining at, entering, or approaching the home, even if the respondent owns it or is on the lease. The Act says expressly that this includes premises the respondent owns, rents or has another interest in (s 63). For the aggrieved's usual home, the court must consider matters such as whether the aggrieved and children can live there safely without the condition, the aggrieved's views, disruption to the children, and both parties' accommodation needs, and it must give reasons (s 64). If an ouster is made, the court must consider a return condition allowing the respondent to collect stated personal belongings, and police may supervise (s 65).

For married couples, the family law courts can also make an injunction restraining a spouse from entering or remaining in the home, or about who occupies it (Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 114(1)(b) and (f)). Those orders are made only where the court considers them proper, and the person seeking one has to justify it.

For the aggrieved, this matters in the other direction: an ouster can allow you and the children to remain safely in the home while everything else is sorted out.

DVO conditions and parenting arrangements interact constantly. Orders are often crafted with exceptions for contact "as required for the purposes of parenting orders" or written communication about the children. Where a DVO and a family law order genuinely conflict, the law has rules for resolving it: under the Family Law Act a family violence order is invalid to the extent it is inconsistent with a family law order, and a Queensland court hearing a DVO matter must consider any family law order and can vary it in some circumstances. Don't resolve a conflict on your own reading - get advice before acting, because a breach of a DVO is a criminal offence. Changeovers get restructured: neutral locations, school-based handovers, or a third party facilitating, so the adults never need to interact.

A DVO is not just about conduct - it can allocate the house, structure the parenting logistics, and touch your employment. Whether you're seeking protection or responding to an application, the conditions should be negotiated with the day-to-day consequences in mind, not discovered after they're in force.

Sources: Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld) (current as at 1 January 2026), ss 63-65; Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Compilation No. 101, compiled 10 June 2025; the latest compilation on the Federal Register of Legislation as at 4 November 2026), ss 68Q, 68R and 114; Weapons Act 1990 (Qld) (current version, checked 4 November 2026), ss 27A, 28A and 29B. The law changes from time to time, so please get advice about your own matter before relying on this general information.