NSW Parliament has passed a legislation to criminalise coercive control — making it the first state in the country to do so.
It comes a month after domestic and family violence advocates warned the Coercive Control Bill had some serious flaws, calling for further consultation on the bill.
Under the new law, convicted perpetrators will face a maximum penalty of seven years in jail. The offence can apply to current or former partner relationships, though the law will not be retroactive.
After the lower house vote in Sydney on Wednesday, Attorney General Mark Speakman said the law will protect people from “domestic terrorism”.
“Commonly what is worse than the bruises or broken bones is the pattern of psychological, sexual, spiritual, financial and other abuse that has them trapped in their own homes, trapped at the hands of someone who’s meant to love them,” he said.
“Today’s the day we have passed a law to save lives in NSW. We know that almost invariably coercive control is a precursor to intimate partner domestic violence homicide.”
Speakman promised to review the law within the next two years.
The NSW’s domestic violence review team from 2021 found that almost every intimate partner homicide between 2008 and 2016 in the state began with coercive control.
Perpetrators commonly restrict the psychological, physical and financial agency of their partners’ to deny them autonomy and independence.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new law will deter abusers.
“There is no doubt that these reforms, which are the first of their kind in this country, will help save lives and deter an abusive and controlling pattern of behaviour that is unacceptable,” Perrottet said.