Intimate Partner Homicide (NSW)
In November 2025, the New South Wales government passed legislation that imposes a mandatory minimum non-parole period of 25 years in cases of intimate partner homicide. This page outlines the new sentencing laws and why they were introduced.
Legislation
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences) Bill 2025 made changes to the Crimes Act 1900, the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, and the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
Increase in mandatory penalty
Under Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1999, the minimum non-parole period for a person found guilty of murder, where the victim is an intimate partner, is 25 years. A court may impose a non-parole period of less than 25 years but must give written reasons for doing so.
Prior to the change, the minimum non-parole period for an intimate partner murder was 20 years. This was the same as the minimum non-parole period that applied for all other murders, with the exception of a murder where the victim is a child under 18 or a public official acting in the course of their duties.
The increase in the minimum expected penalty for intimate partner homicide is intended to reflect the unique harm caused by this type of offending, and to bring it into line with other categories of homicide that are viewed as exceptionally serious.
Reasons for the change
The increase in the minimum non-parole period for intimate partner homicide was introduced to bring sentencing practices into line with community expectations.
It follows an increase in the number of intimate partner homicides in New South Wales, and pressure for sentencing laws to reflect the impact on families and the broader community of this type of offending, and the reality that it is gender-based, with the vast majority of victims being women.
The change also follows the advocacy of Tabitha Acret, whose daughter Mackenzie Anderson was murdered by an intimate partner in 2022. The offender in that case received a sentence of 22.5 years of imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 18 years. Ms Acret subsequently campaigned for harsher sentencing for domestic violence offenders, including delivering a petition with more than 30,000 signatures to the New South Wales parliament.
Other changes
The amending legislation also introduced other changes aimed at toughening the state’s domestic and family violence laws.
Increased penalties were introduced for breaches of domestic violence orders where the offence involves an intention to cause harm or fear.
The Bail Act was also amended so that courts must impose electronic monitoring conditions when granting bail to an alleged serious family violence offender.
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Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.