Coercive Control Offence (NSW)

In 2024, New South Wales become the first Australian state to introduce a standalone offence of coercive control. Coercive control is controlling and abusive behaviour that occurs in a family violence context but may not include physical violence. This page outlines the new offence of coercive control in New South Wales.

Legislation

The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Bill 2022 was passed by the New South Wales parliament in 2023. It came into force at the start of July 2024. It introduces sections 54C-54J into the Crimes Act 1900.

Abusive behaviour towards partner or ex-partner

Under section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900, it is now an offence in New South Wales for an adult to engage in a course of conduct towards another person that consists of abusive behaviour if

• the adult and the other person are or were intimate partners; and
• the adult intends the course of conduct to coerce or control the other person; and
• a reasonable person would consider the course of conduct would be likely to cause fear that violence would be used or to cause a serious adverse impact on the capacity of the other person to engage in some or all of the person’s ordinary day-to-day activities.

This offence is punishable by a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.

Defence

Under section 54E of the Crimes Act 1900, it is a defence to a charge under section 54D if the course of conduct was reasonable in the circumstances.

What is abusive behaviour?

Abusive behaviour may include coercion or control of the person against whom it is committed. It may also include violence, threats or intimidation of the person or another person. It may include behaviour that is economically or financially abusive, behaviour that shames, degrades or humiliates, behaviour that directly or indirectly harasses, behaviour that causes damage to property, behaviour that isolates a person, behaviour that injured or kills an animal, behaviour that restricts a person’s liberty or behaviour that causes harm to the person, or to another person, if the person does not comply with demands.

Prosecuting a person for coercive control

When a person is prosecuted for the offence of coercive control, the court does not need to be satisfied of the particulars of individual instances of the behaviour. Rather, it needs to be satisfied that there was a course of conduct – meaning behaviour that occurred repeatedly or continuously – that consisted of abusive behaviour.

Coercive Control Implementation and Evaluation Taskforce

The amending legislation also establishes a Coercive Control Implementation and Evaluation Taskforce. This Taskforce is responsible for providing advice to the Minister on awareness-raising, training and education. The Taskforce has been established due to a recognition of the need for criminal justice agencies and the broader community to be educated about the phenomenon of coercive control, its impacts and how to recognise it.

Why was the offence introduced?

The amending legislation was introduced by Attorney-General Mark Speakman, who said that the new offence was essential to protect personal safety. Mr Speakman cited research on coercive control that describes it as a systematic attack on liberty, which has the cumulative effect of denying victims their autonomy and that may involve isolating the victim from their support networks.

Speakman pointed out that the vast majority of domestic violence homicides in New South Wales in recent years have occurred in situations that involved coercive control and argued that this very harmful non-physical abusive conduct needs to be recognized and criminalised.

The new offence is carefully designed to capture only conduct of a very serious nature that deserves to be criminalized based on the most successful aspects of overseas models such as those in England and Scotland. The government consulted widely prior to introducing the new offence and received hundreds of submissions from the community.

The legislation will be reviewed after three years to ensure the offence is operating as intended and to explore possibilities for further expansion.

Responses to the new offence

The reforms have been welcomed by some in the family violence sector; however, other voices have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the legislation. Criticisms of the reforms have included the narrow definition of 'a relationship', which may not capture all instances of coercive control. It has also been pointed out that police may not be sufficiently skilled or educated to assess and successfully investigate and prosecute complex and subtle behaviour such as long-term psychological and economic abuse.  

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