NSW Government plan to allow people to check partners criminal DV history in doubt after shock research findings

A plan to allow NSW residents to find out if their partner has a history of abusive or violent domestic violence offending has been thrown into doubt after a major research project into the proposal found it could cause ‘administrative burdens’.

A plan to allow NSW residents to find out if their partner has a history of abusive or violent domestic violence offending has been thrown into doubt after a major research project into the proposal found it could cause “administrative burdens”.

The NSW government is set to rethink a proposal to implement a ‘right to ask’ disclosure scheme that would give police the ability to disclose information to a person about their partner’s previous related offending.

Earlier this year, NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison told NSW Parliament the government was awaiting a major Monash University research project into the proposal scheme before progressing plans for a statewide rollout.

The findings of the research, released last week, found the scheme would carry “significant resourcing implications and administrative workloads” for government agencies including NSW Police.

It also found that information disclosed through a scheme may not “come as a surprise” for applicants, but rather a confirmation of suspicions they already held about their partner.

NSW Minister Jodie Harrison.

“Sharing information with no follow up may put the applicant at greater risk of harm and represents a missed opportunity to keep the victim-survivor’s risk in view,” the research findings added.

Ms Harrison in a statement on Friday declined to provide a commitment about whether the NSW Government would progress with establishing a right to ask initiative.

“Today the NSW Cabinet met to discuss options on how we can address domestic and family violence,” she said.

“Everything is on the table and we are committed to delivering package that is informed by experts to make real change in this space.

“We’ll have more to say over the next few days.”

The right to ask initiative is based on a disclosure scheme in the United Kingdom, known as ‘Clare’s Law’, which was introduced after the murder of 36-year-old Clare Wood by her ex-boyfriend who had a lengthy history of domestic violence made national headlines.

The scheme was being considered as a tool to prevent domestic violence.

South Australia is currently the only Australian state to have a disclosure scheme in place, which has provided approximately 1000 people with information about their current or former partner’s criminal history.

In NSW, the ‘right to ask’ scheme was proposed to enable a person who may be at risk of domestic violence to apply through an online portal or phone line to access information regarding their partner.

NSW Police would need to approve the disclosure of any information. The proposed scheme included privacy controls and criminal penalties for anyone making malicious applications.

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon.

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, who led the Monash University research into the proposed scheme, said the study revealed “significant gaps” in terms of both timeliness of data sharing and also the lack of follow-up support and safety planning provided to applicants.

The research has instead called evidence-based policies and adequate funding for domestic violence specialist support services.

NSW has previously trialled a similar domestic violence disclosure scheme in 2016, with more than 50 people learning about their partner’s domestic violence history before the trial was discontinued in 2018.

Advocacy groups, Full Stop Australia had supported a state-wide rollout of the scheme saying it was a “tangible step” towards increasing safety for women.