The z says the ACT’s move to criminalise coercive control provides an opportunity to build on lessons from New South Wales and Queensland as more states and territories recognise patterns of abuse in law.
The comments come as the ACT Government introduces legislation that, if passed, will create a standalone coercive control offence, recognising domestic and family violence as an ongoing pattern of fear, intimidation and control rather than a series of isolated incidents.
Women’s TRC CEO Elise Phillips said the national momentum reflected a growing understanding of how domestic and family violence affects victim-survivors.
“For many victim-survivors, the abuse isn’t defined by one incident. It’s the ongoing pattern of control that erodes their freedom, independence and sense of safety. Recognising that in law is an important step,” Ms Phillips said.
ACT’s proposed legislation is being considered after NSW and Queensland became the first states to implement coercive control offences, giving lawmakers an opportunity to assess how the reforms are working in practice.
The first NSW monitoring report, released earlier this year by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, found police recorded 473 coercive control incidents during the first 18 months of the offence.
The report showed incidents typically involved multiple abusive behaviours, with harassment and monitoring, threats, financial abuse and social isolation among the most common tactics.
Despite hundreds of recorded incidents, relatively few charges had been laid, highlighting the complexity of proving a course of conduct rather than a single criminal act.
Unlike offences centred on a single incident, coercive control requires police and prosecutors to establish a pattern of behaviour over time and meet several legal tests before a charge can succeed.
Queensland’s first year under similar laws has also highlighted the challenges that remain. While 127 people have been charged with coercive control since the offence was introduced, police data shows 25 people were killed in domestic violence incidents in 2024–25, up from 21 the previous year.
Ms Phillips said the experiences of both states demonstrated that criminalising coercive control was only one part of improving responses to domestic and family violence.
“Recognising coercive control in law is an important milestone, but passing legislation is only the beginning. The real measure of success is whether victim-survivors are safer, recognised earlier and able to access the support they need before abuse escalates,” Ms Phillips said.
“As more states and territories introduce coercive control laws, we have an opportunity to build on what’s already been learned and strengthen support for victim-survivors,” Ms Phillips said.
“We welcomed the NSW Budget’s investment in frontline domestic and family violence services. The next step is ensuring women also have access to the specialist healing and recovery services they need to rebuild their lives.”
Unlike NSW, the ACT’s proposed laws extend beyond current and former intimate partners to include a broader range of family relationships. If passed, the offence could apply to coercive control between parents and adult children, siblings and other family members, making it one of Australia’s broadest coercive control laws.
To secure a prosecution, several elements must be proved, including:
- a “course of conduct” (repeated or continuous abusive behaviour) against a victim
- that the perpetrator was at least 18 years old at the time
- that the perpetrator and victim were or had been intimate partners
- that the perpetrator’s actions were intended to coerce or control the victim
- and that a reasonable person would consider the conduct likely to cause either:
- fear of violence, or
- a serious adverse impact on the victim’s daily activities.