The Queensland Police Service (QPS) will appeal the downgrading of the sentence for an officer who leaked the home address of his friend's ex-wife from the QPS database.
Senior Constable Neil Punchard was sentenced to two months jail — wholly suspended for 18 months — last year, after he pleaded guilty to nine counts of computer hacking.
In 2014, Punchard used confidential police databases to find the address of his friend's ex-wife who had an ongoing domestic violence order against him.
His friend's former partner said she was forced to move after the information was leaked.
Punchard appealed against the two-month sentence on September 1, arguing it was excessive, and won.
The District Court re-sentenced him to 140 hours of community service with no conviction recorded.
QPS announced on Monday it had sought leave to appeal that judgment.
In a statement, QPS said the decision to appeal Punchard's new sentence was reached after "careful consideration of the judgement and independent legal advice".
Punchard is currently stood down on full pay.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said she will consider his suitability to remain employed by QPS after the appeal process is finalised.
