The Facts
A New South Wales man has become the first person to plead guilty under new legislation criminalising ‘coercive control’, which came into effect in the beginning of July 2024.
The man was accused of locking his wife inside their home, telling her that he would murder her, smashing her phone, and not allowing her access to money.
It was also alleged that he made frequent accusations that she was seeing other men and prevented her leaving the house due to this.
The man and his wife lived together in Leeton, a town located in the state’s Riverina region which is around 6 hours away from Sydney. The couple cannot be identified due to a suppression order protecting the victim’s identity.
They had moved to Leeton with their children in 2023, and had previously resided overseas.
The victim had told police that the abuse had been ongoing for years but had never been taken seriously in their home country, despite reported incidents in which she had been chased with an axe and hit over the head.
She reported her husband at Leeton Police Station on 26 July 2024, less than a month after the laws had been passed. She told the police that she had concerns of being physically harmed or even killed.
Her husband was arrested later that same day and was the first person in New South Wales to be charged with coercive control.
He was also charged with four other domestic violence offences, however one offence has since been dropped by the prosecution. He has now pled guilty to coercive control, as well as three of the remaining domestic violence offences.
The Penalty
On 10 December 2024, appeared before Leeton Local Court for Sentence.
He was sentenced to an 18 month Intensive Corrections Order with 120 community service hours and a requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device (aka an ankle bracelet).
An Intensive Corrections Order is a term of imprisonment that is served in the community.
What is Coercive Control?
Coercive control is a form of domestic violence which involves a pattern of conduct, intended to deny a victim their autonomy. It can encompass a wide range of actions including assaults, threats, intimidation, and humiliation.
Common examples which do not include non-violent actions include isolating someone from their friends and family, monitoring them, or controlling their activities and finances.
It has been identified as a repeated factor which precedes intimate partner homicide. The Domestic Violence Death Review Team found that 99% of the relationships which ended in a death could be characterised by the abuser’s use of coercive and controlling behaviours.
What is the Law?
Section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) criminalises coercive control, which is referred to as ‘abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partners’.
The prosecution will need to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused person:
- has engaged in a course of conduct against another person that consists of abusive behaviour,
- intended the course of conduct to coerce or control the other person, and
- is or was in an intimate relationship with the other person.
The course of conduct may be constituted by any combination of abusive behaviours.
Furthermore, whether the course of conduct consists of abusive behaviour must be assessed by considering the totality of the behaviours.
A course of conduct refers to behaviour that is engaged in repeatedly and/or continuously, with it not necessary for an unbroken series of incidents to be present, as per section 54G.
It can also include conduct engaged in outside of New South Wales.
It must also be proven that a reasonable person would consider the course of conduct would be likely, in all the circumstances, to cause fear that violence will be used against the other person or another person or 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.
It does not matter whether or not the fear or impact is in fact caused.
Abusive behaviour is defined as violence, threats, intimidation, or coercion or control of the person against whom the behaviour is directed, as per section 54F.
The Act provides that ‘abusive behaviour’ may be constituted by behaviour that:
- causes harm to the person, a child, or another adult if the person fails to comply with demands made of the accused,
- is economically or financially abusive (such as withholding financial support for a dependent or unreasonably restricting or regulating a person’s finances),
- shames, degrades, or humiliates a person,
- directly or indirectly harasses a person,
- monitors or tracks a person’s activities, communications, or movements (whether by physically following the person, using technology or in another way),
- causes damage to or destruction of property,
- prevents the person from making or keeping connections with the person’s family, friends, or culture, participating in cultural or spiritual ceremonies or practice, or expressing their cultural identity,
- causes injury or death to an animal, or otherwise makes use of an animal to threaten a person, or
- deprives a person of liberty, restricts a person’s liberty, or otherwise unreasonably controls or regulates a person’s day-to-day activities (such as deny access to basic necessities such as food, or withholding medical care).
What is the maximum penalty?
A maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment is prescribed. However, it is classified as a ‘table 1’ offence which means that it will be dealt with in the Local Court unless the prosecution or the accused person elects for the matter to be heard in the District Court.
In the Local Court, the maximum penalty that can be imposed is limited to 2 years imprisonment and/or a $11,000 fine for one count of the offence.
When was it introduced?
In New South Wales, the law criminalising coercive control was passed in 2022. However, to allow for training, resourcing, and efforts to raise community awareness to occur, the law was only formally implemented on 1 July 2024.
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022 (NSW) amended the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) to include Division 6A under Part 3 ‘Offences against the person’.
New South Wales was the first Australian state or territory to create a dedicated offence criminalising coercive control.
Queensland became the second state to introduce coercive control as a specific offence on 6 March 2024.
Tasmania, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have also committed to criminalising coercive control.
Victoria has not announced it will be making any changes, instead dealing with the issue under current legislation.
