Part 3: Powers for dealing with domestic abuse Section 44: Variation and discharge of orders
This section sets out how a DAPO may be varied or discharged, who may apply for such variation or discharge and to which court an application should be made. A variation could include simply extending the duration of an order which has been made for a specified period.
	Subsection (2) provides that a court may vary or discharge an order either on application by a person listed in subsection (3) or by the court of its own volition (if it would have been open to the court to make a DAPO in the circumstances provided for in section 31). The court must hear from specified interested parties before making a decision to vary or discharge an order (subsections (4) and (5)). The court must hear from any relevant chief officer of police who wishes to be heard (subsection (4)(a)) and in cases where the victim is applying to have the order discharged or made less onerous, the court must also hear from the victim (subsection (4)(b)). This is in order to help the court assess whether the victim is being coerced or intimidated.
	The court in determining an application under this section, or determining of its own volition to vary or discharge a DAPO, may make such an order as it considers appropriate (subsection (8)), but before making a decision to vary a DAPO (by removing a requirement imposed by it or by making such requirement less onerous) or discharge a DAPO, the court must consider and be satisfied that doing so would not compromise the safety of the victim from abuse by the perpetrator (subsections (11) and (13)).