From 1 July 2024 the new offence of coercive control under s 54D(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 is included in the definition of personal violence offence under s 11 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, and can therefore be the grounds for a court making an apprehended domestic violence order.
The offence is found in the new Division 6A in Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900, inserted by the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022.
Section 54D(1) creates an offence of abusive behaviour towards a person who is the offender’s current or former intimate partner. It is punishable by a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
The offence requires a course of conduct consisting of abusive behaviour, and the offender must intend that the course of conduct coerce or control the victim.
An intimate partner is someone to whom the offender is or has been married or in a de facto relationship, or with whom they have or have had an intimate personal relationship.
A course of conduct is defined as behaviour that is either repeated, or continuous, or both. There is no minimum number of incidents, they need not be in an unbroken series, nor in immediate succession. Incidents both in and outside of NSW can be included.
Section 54F(2) provides a non-exhaustive list of what can constitute abusive behaviour, including:
- causing harm to a child if a person fails to comply with demands made of them;
- causing harm to the person against whom the behaviour is directed, or another adult, if the person fails to comply with demands made of them,
- economic or financial abuse;
- shaming, degrading, or humiliating a person;
- harassing, monitoring, or tracking a person;
- damaging or destroying property;
- isolating a person or preventing them from keeping connections with their family, friends, or culture.
The amending Act also inserted a new s 6A into the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 to provide a definition of domestic abuse, being:
…violent or threatening behaviour, behaviour that coerces or controls, or behaviour that causes a person to fear for their or others’ safety and wellbeing.
The new s 6A includes a non-exhaustive list of behaviours that can constitute domestic abuse. This largely mirrors the list in s 54F of the Crimes Act, but includes behaviour that exposes a child to the effects of domestic abuse.
Behaviour may be domestic abuse, and therefore ground an apprehended domestic violence order, even if it doesn’t constitute a criminal offence.
The By Lawyers Apprehended Violence Order (NSW) guide has been updated accordingly.