Never before has there been so much press and focus on family violence in Australia. 

This year has seen an escalation in the number of women killed as a result of family violence. Whilst previously we lost on average one woman each week to family violence, recent statistics indicate this is now one woman lost every four days.  

As family lawyers working in this jurisdiction, family violence is a part of our daily client experience. Currently it is estimated that allegations of family violence are made in approximately 70% of family law cases before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.   

Family violence is now recognised as a national crisis, and “coercive control” is at the forefront of legal reform to combat this. Coercive control involves a person using patterns of abusive behaviours over time to control another person in a way that creates fear and denies liberty and autonomy. People who use coercive control may use physical or non-physical abusive behaviours, or a combination of both.  

New research from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research1 has found that 57 % of family violence incidents reported to NSW police included reference to at least one coercive control behaviour. The most common forms of coercive control were found to be property damage and theft, intimidation and threats, and verbal abuse.  

In New South Wales and Queensland, legislation has been enacted to render coercive control a stand alone criminal offence, with legislation in all other states recognising coercive control within their family violence legislation.  

The Australian Government has also collaborated with all state and territory governments to develop the National Principles to Address Coercive Control in Family and Domestic Violence (the National Principles). The National Principles create a shared national understanding of coercive control, and are designed to be used by organisations involved in addressing coercive control.