New Breaking and Entering Charges for People Who Enter a Home to Commit Domestic Violence
Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
apprehended violence orders breaking and entering criminal law domestic violence dwelling-house intimate partner violence
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:
Justin Clancy LIB
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026 and acknowledge the presence of the Attorney General in the Chamber. I thank him for bringing the bill before the House and indicate my support for the bill. It addresses a real and serious gap in the law that goes to the fundamental expectation that people should feel safe in their own homes.”
Hugh McDermott ALP
“He left. He moved out, handed back his keys and stopped paying rent and other outstanding bills. She stayed. She changed her locks, took over the rent and began the arduous process of reclaiming her home. Late one night, he came back. He kicked in the front door, breaking through three locks, and grabbed her violently.”
Mark Hodges LIB
“The object of the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026 is to amend the Crimes Act 1900 to reform and modernise the law relating to breaking and entering into residential premises. Specifically, the bill strengthens the law to support victims of domestic and family violence.”
David Saliba ALP
“I support the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026. I commend the Attorney General and his team for their work in this space. A number of members have spoken in detail about the provisions in the bill and what it is about. I will talk about one particular intention of the bill, which is ensuring the safety of domestic violence survivors and their families.”
Brendan Moylan NAT
“I speak in support of the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026 and commend the Opposition’s amendments to the House. It is unarguable that a name on a lease agreement or a title deed should not ever be a shield for violent behaviour.”
Jason Li ALP
“I support the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026. It is commonsense reform. A person’s home should be a place of safety. It should be the place where they can close the door, put down their keys and relax a bit. For a victim-survivor of domestic violence, that sense of safety may already be painfully fragile.”
Michael Kemp NAT
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026. I state at the outset that if we find a legal loophole, we are in this place as legislators and it is very important that we fix it. A legal right is not a moral right, and it does not protect victims in our society. Domestic violence is a daily reality faced by too many families.”
Geoff Provest NAT
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026. Members on both sides of the House have spoken about the technical definition of "break and enter". As we all know, domestic violence is a terrible scourge in our local communities. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in the number of reported cases. In my electorate of Tweed, we suffer a fairly high rate.”
Michael Daley ALP
“The bill introduces an important reform that will ensure that domestic violence perpetrators can be held to account for serious break and enter offences.”
News articles and press releases
Crimes Amendment (Breaking and Entering Offences) Bill 2026
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2026-03-25
The High Court majority decision in BA v The King [2023] HCA 14, which I will refer to as BA, found that a person cannot commit a break and enter offence if they have a lawful right of entry onto premises, because a fundamental element of committing a break is committing a trespass. This means that, for example, a person who may have moved out of a dwelling house but is still on the lease cannot, at law, commit a break and enter. The BA decision raised major concerns in the context of intimate partner violence, which is precisely what occurred in that case.