NT government introduces coercive control in domestic violence laws

The courts will be able to consider coercive control and the criminal history of people involved in domestic violence orders as part of proposed new laws. Here are the main changes.

Courts will consider coercive control and be able to access the criminal records of people involved in a domestic violence order as part of a string of changes to one of the Territory’s biggest social challenges.

New domestic and family violence legislation was introduced in NT parliament on Wednesday, which the government has described as “victim-centred”.

It will write a definition of coercive control into law but falls short of criminalising the act, which other states such as Queensland and South Australia have moved to do.

The Bill will define it as an act involving “violent, threatening or intimidating behaviour” that has the effect of “restricting the freedom of a person”, among other impacts.

The proposed change will also require police to provide criminal and DVO history for domestic violence order applications.

This is expected to prevent victims, especially those who have faced repeated abuse, from falling through the cracks of the system.

Attorney-General Chansey Paech. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Attorney-General Chansey Paech said other changes would lead to greater information-sharing between police, courts and support services.

“This stamps out the opportunity for mis-identification,” he said.

“It allows the court and the police and service providers to have access to the information when needed to make those informed decisions.

“This will absolutely be integral to overcoming those high rates of domestic and family violence in our community.”

While promising the changes would support victims, Mr Paech said more commonwealth funding was key to turning the tide on the Territory’s shocking rates of DV – which are seven times higher than the Australian average on homicides.

“This legislation alone cannot overcome the high rates of domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory … we continue to advocate for commonwealth needs-based funding,” he said.

“We are absolutely not going to let this go, we are banging on the doors of Canberra.”

DV experts have forecast $180m over five years would be the “bare minimum” needed to address the crisis, but the NT government has committed just $25m over two years.

When asked on Mix 104.9 if the federal government would provide needs-based funding, Solomon MP Luke Gosling said “who knows”.

“Maybe they might provide funding based on need, which is a different way of putting it, but it means the same thing,” he said.

“When it comes down to it, we need more funding and that’s what I’ll keep advocating for.”

NTCOSS senior policy officer Sophie Hantz. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Northern Territory Council of Social Service senior policy officer Sophie Hantz said the legislation was welcomed, particularly the efforts to prevent a “significant and ongoing problem” of misidentifying victims as perpetrators.

However she said the changes were “not the panacea”.

“Those enacting this legislation must be appropriately trained to identify coercive control and the person most in need of protection,” she said.

“We also echo the calls from the DFSV sector and Ministers Worden and Paech, the NT is not adequately resourced to address the domestic and family violence.

“We call on the federal government to provide DFSV funding to the NT based on our need.”

The new legislation will return to parliament in November, where it expected to pass into law.

Originally published as NT government introduces coercive control in domestic violence laws