Ankle monitoring not likely to be included in DV law changes

Changes to NSW domestic violence bail laws will be introduced to parliament next week, but Premier Chris Minns has indicated electronic ankle monitoring may not be part of the reform.

Changes to bail laws for high risk domestic violence offenders will be introduced to parliament next week, with Premier Chris Minns flagging electronic ankle monitoring may not be included in the reforms.

The Premier told media on Thursday the new legislative changes would centre around bail and remand laws, targeting high risk offenders.

“Our approach to this has been to look specifically at the legal system and the application of bail in NSW court,” he said.

“What we’re looking at in terms of our intervention is bail remand, particularly for high risk offenders in the community.”

Mr Minns said the new laws would be introduced to cabinet over the weekend or first thing next week before being immediately put to parliament.

NSW Premier Chris Minns speaks during question time at New South Wales Parliament House in Sydney. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard)

The comments come after a 39-year-old woman was stabbed in her throat by an ex-partner as she left an Alexandria gym – an attack the Premier called a “disturbing and quite shocking incident”. The woman had an apprehended violence order against her attacker at the time.

While the Premier said the government was looking into changing the way AVOs were monitored, the new reform is unlikely to include provisions for electronic ankle monitoring bracelets.

He said that not only was ankle monitoring expensive but it also required a large number of policing resources to monitor should an offender breach their AVO.

A trial for ankle monitoring in South Australia involves 150, while the number of AVOs in NSW numbers more than 40,000, an amount the Premier indicated made the technology prohibitive.

“We are looking at that (electronic monitoring) closely, but I have to tell you that the challenges with ankle monitoring are this – firstly trials of ankle monitoring across the country have been very small and quite limited,” he said.

“It’s not just the upfront capital costs, you also need to make sure that you’ve got policing in place that can monitor and respond to a potential offender breaching their apprehended domestic violence order.”

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said during Question Time on Thursday the government had received advice from the domestic violence prevention sector “not to rush into reform with respect to electronic monitoring”.

“There are instances where it does not work, does not protect the woman and the woman in question does not feel safe,” he said.

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