News Alert – New Domestic Violence Laws now Enacted

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Author: Ben Brown

From 1 July 2024, it is an offence pursuant to section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900 to coercively control an intimate partner. The legislative framework is new and provides many new terms to the Crimes Act to consider.

The Legislation

Under section 54D, it is an offence to do the following:

1. Engage in a course of conduct against another person that consists of abusive behaviour;
2. The two adults are or were intimate partners;
3. That there was an intention by one adult, in the course of conduct, to coerce or control the other partner; and
4. a reasonable person would consider the course of conduct would be likely, in all the circumstances, to cause any or all of the following, whether or not the fear or impact is in fact caused—
   1. fear that violence will be used against the other person or another person, or
   2. 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.

Under the legislation, an ‘adult’ is someone over the age of 18 and ‘intimate partner’ means any of the following:

1. is or has been married to the first person;
2. is or has been in a de facto relationship with the first person; or
3. had an intimate personal relationship with the first person (this does necessarily include a relationship of a sexual nature).

‘Course of conduct’ refers to behaviour that is engaged in either repeatedly or continuously, or both continuously and repeatedly. The legislation is clear that this course does not need to be an unbroken series of events or events in immediate succession of each other. There does not need to be a specific number of events to establish the course of conduct. This behaviour in the course of conduct can be any combination of abusive behaviours and whether the course of conduct is constituted as abusive needs to be considered in the totality of the behaviours.

‘Abusive behaviour,’ under the legislation, refers to behaviour that consists of, or involves, violence or threats against a person, including intimidation, or coercion or control of the person with whom the behaviour is directed. The legislation provides some examples of this behaviour in an unexhaustive list, including:

• • behaviour that shames, degrades or humiliates;
  • tracking a person’s activities, communications or movements, whether by physically following the person, using technology or in another way;
  • depriving a person of their liberty;
  • withholding financial support;
  • preventing, or unreasonably restricting or regulating, a person seeking or keeping employment; and
  • causing harm to a child if a person fails to comply with demands made of the person.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 7 years imprisonment, and can be dealt with summarily in the Local Court, carrying a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $11,000.00.

Under the legislation, a defence is available to the offence, being that the course of conduct was reasonable in the circumstances.

The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only. This publication does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Specific legal advice should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.