Peace + Good Behaviour QLD

Peace and good behaviour order lawyers, Queensland

A peace and good behaviour order is an order of a Queensland Magistrates Court requiring someone to keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards you. Odyssey Legal acts on both sides of them: for people applying because a neighbour, a co-worker or an acquaintance has made threats, and for people who have been served with a complaint and a summons and need to answer it.

  • Applying, and defending a complaint

  • Neighbours, co-workers and acquaintances

  • Acting Queensland-wide

Speak to our Experts: (07) 5370 8759
Start Fast-Track Assessment

01

Start with the Fast-Track Assessment

Five questions, about a minute. It tells us which side of the complaint you are on, what date is on your paperwork, and whether the conduct you are describing is the kind section 5 actually covers.

Served with a summons, or thinking about applying? Start here.

1ABOUT YOU
2WHICH SIDE
3THE DATE
4WHAT HAPPENED
5THE HISTORY
About you

We will come back to you with whether an order is available on what you have described and what the next step is. No obligation, and the first conversation is free.

02

When an order is actually available

The Act is narrower than most descriptions of it, and the gap between the two is where applications fail.

Section 5 of the Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982 sets out what a complaint has to be about. It is not general bad behaviour, it is not rudeness, and it is not a noise problem. It is a threat of a particular kind, and a complainant who is genuinely in fear because of it.

The five grounds in section 5

Four of them are threats. The fifth is conduct rather than words, and it is the one that fits a lot of neighbour disputes better than the other four.

s 5(1)(a)

A threat to assault you, or to do you bodily injury

Including a threat against any person under your care or charge, which covers your children and anyone you are responsible for. The threat is the conduct the Act is aimed at, and it does not have to have been carried out.

s 5(1)(b)

A threat to get somebody else to do it

Procuring another person to assault you or do you bodily injury is treated the same way as doing it personally. A threat delivered through a third party, or a threat to send one, is within the section.

s 5(1)(c)

A threat to destroy or damage your property

Property rather than person, and the same logic applies. This is the ground most neighbour disputes actually run on, because the threats in them are usually about fences, vehicles, animals or the house itself.

s 5(1)(d)

A threat to get somebody else to damage your property

The property equivalent of the second ground. Again, procuring another person to do it is within the section.

s 5(2)

Intentional conduct that made you fear for your property

A separate ground and a useful one, because it does not require a threat in words at all. It requires intentional conduct directed at you that has caused you to fear the other person will destroy or damage your property. Conduct rather than words, which is what a lot of these disputes actually consist of.

Under every one of those, section 5 also requires that you are in fear of the person complained against. That is not a formality and it is where a weak complaint comes apart: a dispute you find infuriating but are not frightened by is a different problem with different remedies, and it is better to know that before you file than at the hearing. The Act itself is free to read: the whole of Part 2 of the Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982 runs to nine short sections.

03

How an application runs, and the filter before it

There are two steps, and the first is a filter most people do not know is there. A complaint does not go straight to a hearing: it goes to a justice of the peace, who has to be satisfied of two separate things before anything is served on anybody.

01

Step one

The complaint, to a justice of the peace

Section 5. You set out the threats and why you are in fear

What that means

Queensland Courts publishes the forms and the current filing fee, and it is modest

02

The filter

The justice has to be satisfied of two things

Section 5(2A): the matter is substantiated, AND it is reasonable in the circumstances for you to have that fear

What that means

Both limbs. A substantiated complaint from somebody with no reasonable basis for fear does not get through

03

Summons

A summons is issued and served on the respondent

The respondent is required to appear before a Magistrates Court

What that means

This is the point at which most respondents first learn anything about it

04

Mention

The first appearance

The court finds out whether the complaint is contested and sets the matter down if it is

What that means

A great many matters resolve here by agreement or undertaking without any order being made

05

Hearing

The court hears and determines the complaint

Section 7(1). Evidence from both sides, and the complainant has to prove the complaint

What that means

Section 7(3): the court may dismiss the complaint, or make an order

06

If nobody appears

Not turning up is the worst option

Section 8. If the respondent does not appear and service is proved, the court may issue a warrant

What that means

It can also hear the matter in their absence. Ignoring a summons does not make it go away

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For a straightforward application, you may not need us

Two things are worth taking from that shape. The justice of the peace step is a real filter and not a rubber stamp, which is why a complaint that is put together properly matters more than people expect. And the mention is the cheapest opportunity either side will get: most of these matters can be resolved there by agreement, and an order made by consent without admissions is often a better outcome for a respondent than a contested hearing they might lose. Queensland Courts publishes the forms and the current fee, and Legal Aid Queensland gives free guidance on preparing one. Where it is worth getting a lawyer is a contested hearing, or being on the receiving end of a complaint.

Speak to our Experts: (07) 5370 8759
Start Fast-Track Assessment

04

Served with a complaint? What the Act gives you

You have been served with a complaint and a summons. Everything written about these orders is written for the person who filed it.

A peace and good behaviour complaint is civil, not criminal. Nobody has charged you with anything and being served does not mean you have done anything wrong. What it means is that somebody has satisfied a justice of the peace of two things, on their account alone, and you now have a date to attend court.

The Act gives you more to work with than most descriptions of it suggest, and one provision in particular is written for exactly this position.

01

s 7(2)

The complaint is made from malice, or for vexation only

This is in the Act, in terms, and it is the provision nothing else written about these orders seems to mention. Section 7(2) says that without limiting any other evidence given by or on behalf of the defendant, the defendant may produce evidence that the complaint is made from malice or for vexation only. In a dispute that has been running for two years, where the complaint arrived the week after a fencing argument or a council report, that is not a technicality. It is the point, and it is expressly open to you.

02

s 5(1), s 5(2)

The threat alleged is not one the section covers

Section 5 covers threats to assault or injure, to damage property, to procure somebody else to do either, or intentional conduct causing fear for property. It does not cover rudeness, arguments, noise, staring, or being generally unpleasant. A complaint built on conduct that falls outside the section can be met on that basis alone, without disputing that the conduct happened.

03

s 5(2A)

The fear is not reasonable in the circumstances

The second limb of the filter is not whether the complainant says they are afraid, it is whether it is reasonable in the circumstances for them to have that fear. That is an objective question and it is answerable with evidence: the history between you, what was actually said, what the complainant did afterwards, and whether their behaviour is consistent with somebody who was frightened.

04

The evidence

The account is contradicted by the record

These matters are almost always decided on whose version the magistrate accepts, and the material that decides it usually already exists: messages, emails, doorbell and dashcam footage, council complaints, body corporate correspondence, the dates of previous incidents. Get it together before the mention rather than after it, and do not delete anything, including things you would rather had not been sent.

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The one thing not to do is reply

One thing that is not a defence, and it is the most common instinct: responding. Anything you send the complainant after being served becomes evidence, and a message sent in justified frustration reads at a hearing exactly like the conduct they are complaining about. If there is something that needs to be said, it should be said through a lawyer or not at all.

05

Breaching an order

An order itself is not a criminal conviction and it does not give you a criminal record. Breaching one is a different matter.

What section 11 actually says

Three things, and the second and third are the ones people do not expect.

The offence

Breaching an order is a criminal offence

Section 11. A person who contravenes or fails to comply with an order made under section 7, during the currency of that order, is guilty of an offence against the Act. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 1 year.

Each time

Every contravention is its own offence

Section 11 treats each contravention or failure to comply as a separate offence, and that includes breaching any stipulation or condition attached to the order rather than only the core requirement to keep the peace. A pattern of small breaches is not one charge.

And again

A conviction can bring a further order

Section 12. On convicting somebody of breaching an order, the court may make a further order that they keep the peace and be of good behaviour for such time as it thinks fit, on the same basis as the original. The consequence of a breach is not only the penalty, it is often a longer leash.

That is also the clean answer to the question everybody asks about criminal records. The ORDER is a civil order and is not a conviction. A CONVICTION for breaching it under section 11 is criminal and is recorded as one. Those are two different things and the distinction is worth being precise about, because a lot of what is written about these orders blurs them.

Speak to our Experts: (07) 5370 8759
Start Fast-Track Assessment

06

Is it this order you need, or the other one?

Queensland has no such thing as a restraining order, and which order you actually need depends on one question.

People search for a restraining order because that is the phrase everybody knows from television. In Queensland the two orders that do that job are different from each other, they sit under different Acts, and the one you need is decided by your relationship with the other person rather than by what they did.

Not a domestic relationship

Peace and good behaviour order

Which Act

Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982 (Qld)

When it applies

A neighbour, a co-worker, an acquaintance, somebody in your street or your building. Anyone you are not in a domestic relationship with

Where to start

This page, and the free forms and guidance at Queensland Courts

A domestic relationship

Domestic violence order

Which Act

Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld)

When it applies

A current or former partner, a family member, or an informal care relationship. This is the one most people searching for a restraining order actually need

Where to start

DVConnect and the Queensland Government's domestic and family violence support, linked below. This is not our practice area and we will tell you so rather than take the matter

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If this is a domestic relationship, go here instead

We do not act in domestic and family violence matters. If that is what this is, the links below go to people who do, and they are better placed than any law firm page to help you today. Getting that distinction wrong costs time you may not have. DVConnect is available 24 hours, and the Queensland Government's domestic and family violence support sets out what is available and how to get it.

07

Why choose Odyssey Legal?

Imagine the relief of finally knowing your legal troubles are in expert hands. Whether it's recovering money owed through our Letter of Demand or pursuing your rights through legal proceedings, you'll leave our consultation with certainty about your path forward and the confidence that comes from having expert litigation lawyers protecting your interests.

Queensland Law Society

Legal Practice Director

Damon Laffin

  • Master of Laws majoring in Commercial Litigation

  • Admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland

  • Admitted to the High Court of Australia

11+ Years of Queensland experience
$3M+ Recovered for clients

What that means in practice

  • Focused Expertise. At Odyssey Legal, our expertise is focused solely on Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Business, giving our clients precise and practical solutions tailored to the situation.

  • Expert Experience. Our team brings over a decade of litigation experience, having handled a variety of complex disputes. This translates directly into strategic insights that only come from years in the trenches.

  • Proven Track Record. We've successfully resolved countless disputes and helped safeguard countless businesses, efficiently and effectively.

  • Peace of Mind. From the first consultation, we provide clarity, confidence, and a clear path forward, so you can focus on what matters most and leave the legal headache to us.

Fast-Track Assessment

Find out where you actually stand

Whether somebody has made threats against you, or a complaint has landed on you out of a dispute that has been running for years, the first thing worth knowing is whether the Act covers it.

Five questions, about a minute. It tells us which side of the complaint you are on, what date is on your paperwork, and whether the conduct you are describing is the kind section 5 actually covers.

Start Fast-Track Assessment

(07) 5370 8759

If you have a summons with a date on it, call rather than filling anything in. Not appearing is the one outcome with no upside: under section 8 the court can issue a warrant and can deal with the complaint without you there.

Frequently asked questions

It is an order of a Queensland Magistrates Court, made under the Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982, requiring a person to keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards you. It can also contain other stipulations or conditions the court thinks fit.

It is a civil order rather than a criminal one, and it applies to people you are not in a domestic relationship with: neighbours, co-workers, acquaintances.

Where someone has threatened to assault or injure you or a person in your care or charge, threatened to destroy or damage your property, or threatened to procure somebody else to do either. There is also a separate ground for intentional conduct directed at you that has caused you to fear your property will be damaged.

In every case the Act requires that you are in fear of the person complained against. Conduct that is infuriating but not frightening, and conduct involving no threat of that kind, generally falls outside the section.

Start with section 7(2), which is in the Act and which very little written about these orders mentions: the defendant may produce evidence that the complaint is made from malice or for vexation only. In a long-running dispute where the complaint arrived immediately after some other flashpoint, that is frequently the heart of the answer.

Beyond that: whether the conduct alleged is even within section 5, whether it is reasonable in the circumstances for the complainant to have the fear they claim, and what the contemporaneous record actually shows. And one thing that is not a defence, which is responding. Anything you send after being served becomes evidence.

You complete a complaint setting out the threats and why you are in fear, and swear it before a justice of the peace. Queensland Courts publishes the forms and the current fee.

The justice then has to be satisfied of two things before a summons issues: that the matter is substantiated, and that it is reasonable in the circumstances for you to have that fear. If they are satisfied, a summons is issued and served on the respondent requiring them to appear.

The court filing fee is modest and is published by Queensland Courts, which sets it annually. Legal Aid Queensland and community legal centres provide free guidance on the forms, and for a straightforward application many people do it themselves. We will tell you when that is the sensible course.

Where cost becomes a real question is a contested hearing, or being on the receiving end of one. Odyssey Legal offers fixed-fee options and a free 15-minute initial consultation so you can find out which situation you are actually in before committing to anything.

Yes, and the quality of it is usually what decides the matter. A justice of the peace has to be satisfied the complaint is substantiated before a summons will issue, and at a contested hearing the complainant has to prove the complaint.

What carries weight is contemporaneous material: messages, emails, recordings, dates and times written down when things happened, police or council reference numbers, and the accounts of anyone who witnessed the conduct.

There is no fixed period. Section 7(3)(b) says the order runs for such time, specified in the order, as the court thinks fit, so the duration is set case by case and appears on the order itself.

The order may also contain other stipulations or conditions, and those matter as much as the duration because breaching one of them is breaching the order.

Breaching an order is a criminal offence under section 11 of the Act. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 1 year, and each contravention is a separate offence, including breaching any stipulation or condition attached to the order.

On a conviction for breach, section 12 allows the court to make a further order that the person keep the peace and be of good behaviour for such further time as it thinks fit.

The order itself is a civil order. It is not a conviction and it does not of itself give you a criminal record.

A conviction for breaching the order under section 11 is a different matter: that is a criminal offence and a conviction for it is recorded as one. A lot of what is written about these orders blurs the two, and the distinction is worth being precise about.

Yes. The complaint has to be heard and determined by the court under section 7, both sides can give evidence, and section 7(3) expressly allows the court to dismiss the complaint.

Many matters resolve at the first mention without a contested hearing, sometimes by an agreement or undertaking and sometimes by an order made by consent. For a respondent that is frequently a better outcome than a hearing they might lose.

Do not. Under section 8, if you do not appear at the time and place on the summons and service is proved, the court may issue a warrant to have you brought before it, and it may deal with the complaint in your absence.

An order made because nobody turned up to answer the complaint is as enforceable as one made after a full hearing, and breaching it carries the same consequences.

Neighbours are the single most common situation these orders are used for, so very possibly yes. The question is whether what your neighbour has done involves a threat of the kind section 5 covers, or intentional conduct that has made you fear for your property.

If the real issue is noise, a fence, trees, animals or a boundary, there are usually better and cheaper avenues than a complaint to a Magistrates Court, and a complaint that does not fit section 5 tends to make a neighbour dispute worse rather than better.

Queensland has no order called a restraining order. There are two orders that do that job and which one applies depends on your relationship with the other person, not on what they did.

If it is a current or former partner, a family member, or an informal care relationship, that is a domestic violence order under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 and it is not this. We do not act in domestic and family violence matters and the links on this page go to the services that do.

Circumstances change, and an order made two years ago in a dispute that has since resolved is worth reviewing rather than living with indefinitely.

What is available depends on the terms of your order, how it was made and what has changed since. It is worth a conversation with the order itself in front of us, because the answer turns on the document.

We act on both sides: preparing and running applications where the conduct genuinely fits the Act, and defending complaints where it does not or where the complaint is being used as a weapon in a dispute that has been running for years.

The free 15-minute initial consultation is the fastest way to find out which of those you are in. If our view is that you should use the free forms and do it yourself, we will say so.

Related information

Peace and good behaviour applications, Queensland Courts

The court's own page, the forms, and the current filing fee. It is the result at position one on this search and it is free

Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982 (Qld)

Part 2 is the order: section 5 for the grounds, section 7 for the hearing and the malice provision, section 11 for breach

Peace and good behaviour, Legal Aid Queensland

Free guidance on whether an application is the right step and how to prepare one

DVConnect

If the other person is a partner, former partner or family member, this is a domestic violence matter rather than a peace and good behaviour one. DVConnect is available 24 hours

Domestic and family violence support, Queensland Government

Where to start if this is a domestic relationship. Not our practice area, and these services are better placed to help today

Civil and personal litigation

Where a neighbour dispute is really about nuisance, trespass or a boundary rather than a threat

Building and construction disputes

Where the dispute with a neighbour or a builder is about the work itself rather than about conduct