Tougher new DV and stalking laws lay groundwork for Queensland’s coercive control legislation

Tough new DV and stalking laws will ensure victims are better protected and lay the groundwork for the criminalisation of coercive control in Queensland.

Queensland’s domestic violence and stalking laws will be strengthened and definitions modernised as the state government lays essential groundwork before coercive control criminalised.

The laws to be introduced on Friday by Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman will also ensure the person most at risk of abuse will be better protected as they go through court by strengthening processes.

The reform is in line with recommendations from the landmark Hear Her Voice report released by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in December 2021.

Separate to the recommendations of the Hear Her Voice report, the legislation will also make changes to terminology used for sexual offences in the Criminal Code including getting rid of the archaic term “carnal knowledge”.

Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman. Picture: NCA NewWire / Dan Peled

The state government has committed to criminalising coercive control, which includes using controlling behaviour such as deciding where a partner can go, who they can see and how much they can spend, by the end of 2023.

But prior to that the state government will introduce law changes to lay the groundwork.

Changes to the state’s domestic and family violence protection laws are designed to combat coercive control, including broadening the definition of DV to include a “pattern of behaviour”.

The definition of stalking will also be modernised, ensuring abusers who use technology to track or monitor their victims will be captured under the criminal code.

Ms Fentiman said the legislation was the first step in “combating non-physical forms of domestic violence”.

“These important reforms lay the foundation for the passage of a stand-alone offence of coercive control next year,” she said.

“The Taskforce stated very clearly that system-wide reform was needed before any new coercive control offence came into effect.

“This Bill makes a number of amendments to further shift our approach to domestic and family violence to focus on the dangerous patterns of abusive behaviour which over time.”

The way courts respond to duelling protection orders and how it considers prior domestic violence history will be strengthened in a bid to limit the ability of abusers to further traumatise victims during the legal process.

The legislation will also include changes to the criminal code to “modernise and update” terminology used for sexual offences.

For example the offence known as “maintaining a sexual relationship with a child” will be changed to “repeated sexual conduct with a child”.

The term “carnal knowledge” will be replaced with “penile intercourse”.

The reforms were developed following “targeted consultation” with stakeholders and the legal sector according to the state government.

Originally published as Tougher new DV and stalking laws lay groundwork for Queensland’s coercive control legislation