Intimate Partner Murder (NT)
In February 2026, the Northern Territory government introduced legislation setting a mandatory minimum non-parole period for murder where the victim is an intimate partner of the offender. This page outlines the changes, the reasons they have been introduced, and the community response.
Legislation
The Sentencing Amendment (Murder) Bill 2026 makes amendments to the Sentencing Act 1995.
Mandatory sentencing
The Northern Territory’s criminal laws have included mandatory sentencing in different forms for periods since the early 1990s. The NT’s mandatory sentencing laws have always been controversial, and have been amended numerous times over the years, by successive governments.
In their current form, the NT’s mandatory sentencing laws include mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for violent offences, mandatory imprisonment or a community work order for aggravated property offences, and mandatory imprisonment for some types of breach DVO offences.
The NT also has mandatory minimum non-parole periods in relation to some serious offences, including murder.
Murder in the NT
A person who is found guilty of murder in the Northern Territory faces a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life, with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
This means that anyone who is sentenced for murder will spend at least 20 years in prison. If they are released from prison, they will remain on parole for the rest of their life.
Courts may sentence offenders to longer non-parole periods than the mandatory minimum period; however, they may not sentence a person to a shorter non-parole period.
What is changing?
Under the 2026 changes, a person who is found guilty of the murder of a spouse or de facto partner, former spouse or de facto partner, or a person with whom they have or had an intimate personal relationship, will face a minimum non-parole period of 25 years.
This means that they will spend at least 25 years in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole.
What is an intimate personal relationship?
Under section 11 of the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007, an intimate personal relationship exists if two people:
- are engaged to be married; or
- are in an intimate relationship; or
- have sexual contact.
Whether an intimate relationship exists is to be assessed based on all the circumstances, including the length of time two people have been in a relationship, the frequency of the contact, and the level of intimacy between them.
Reasons for the changes
The NT government has claimed that the increased minimum non-parole period for murders that occur in a domestic violence context are the strongest in the country and will act as a deterrent against this type of offending.
The NT has the highest rate of domestic and family violence in Australia, with media reports stating that almost 100 women have been killed by their partner since 2000.
The government has described the domestic violence situation as a crisis.
Community responses
Domestic and family violence experts have responded to the announcement by saying that there is no evidence that harsher sentences act as a deterrent against domestic violence offending and that the changes do not adequately reflect how this type of violence operates.
The advocacy group Justice Not Jails has warned that the changes are likely to disproportionately affect First Nations people without addressing the root causes of domestic and family violence.
Concerns have also been voiced that the mandatory nature of the penalty reduces the discretion of courts and does not allow for the complex nature of domestic violence offending to be adequately catered to.
However, many community groups welcome the changes and see them as long overdue, with concerns having been voiced in recent years about sentences for domestic violence offending being too lenient.
Many community members see harsher and more consistent sentencing for intimate partner homicide as necessary as a reflection of the serious harm caused by this of offending.
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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.