Tougher Bail Tests for Serious Domestic Violence Offenders
Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
bail conditions court procedures criminal justice domestic violence electronic monitoring victim rights
Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Susan Carter LIB
“I contribute to debate on the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. We acknowledge that hard cases make bad laws, but if we do not reflect on tragic cases, and learn from them, then we are unlikely to craft good laws. The death of Molly Ticehurst in Forbes a few weeks ago is tragic. She was a young mother and a childcare worker.”
Abigail Boyd GRN
“As The Greens’ gendered abuse spokesperson, I speak in debate on the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. I thank my colleague the member for Ballina, Tamara Smith, for shepherding the bill through the Legislative Assembly on behalf of The Greens and securing one of our amendments in the process.”
Rod Roberts IND
“I contribute to debate on the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. I too support this bill, but that support comes with a caveat that I will get to shortly. It is good for a change to see something come out of the Attorney General’s office that I can put my support behind.”
Sue Higginson GRN
“I contribute to debate on the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. On Tuesday morning the Attorney General told us that the Government had formed the view that the community expects action, which is absolutely true. The community expects action because domestic and family violence is a scourge and we witness its lethal worst almost weekly.”
Emma Hurst AJP
“On behalf of the Animal Justice Party, I contribute to debate on the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. There is an epidemic of violence against women in this country. During the May sitting I reported to the House that, as of August, 28 women had been killed by violence in 2024. It is the beginning of June and that number has already increased to 35.”
Stephen Lawrence ALP
“I speak in support of the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024. The main aspects of the bill will operate to expand the offences to which the existing show cause requirement under section 16B of the Bail Act applies so that the requirement includes a serious domestic violence offence and the new coercive control offence.”
Rose Jackson ALP
“Susan Carter, Ms Abigail Boyd, the Hon. Emma Hurst, the Hon. Rod Roberts, Ms Sue Higginson and my colleague the Hon. Stephen Lawrence. The people of New South Wales are all too aware of the urgent crisis of domestic violence that is giving rise to the reforms in the bill. They see its devastating impacts not only in the media but also in their own lives and the lives of people they love.”
News articles and press releases
Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill 2024
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2024-05-15
This bill will expand the offences to which the "show cause" requirement under section 16B of the Bail Act applies to include "serious domestic violence offences" and the new coercive control offence. It will require a bail authority, when applying the unacceptable risk test in part 3, division 2 of the Bail Act 2013, to consider two additional matters. First, the bill will introduce a new provision that explicitly requires the bail authority to consider behaviour engaged in by the accused that may constitute domestic abuse, including but not limited to strangulation, sexual assault, animal abuse and stalking—factors that the sector asked us to include in these provisions.