The New Domestic Violence Bail Laws

June 20, 2024

The Bill primarily seeks to amend the Bail Act 2013 (NSW). Here is a summary of the new proposed laws:

It adds further offences to the list of offences to which the show cause requirement applies, namely serious domestic violence offences and coercive control (once the law criminalising coercive control comes into force by 1 July 2024).
A “serious domestic violence offence” is an offence under Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) with a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment or more if the offence is committed by a person against an “intimate partner”.
An “intimate partner” is to a person who is or has been married, a de facto partner, or is in or has been in an intimate relationship, whether this was of a sexual nature.
The Bail authority is to consider additional matters when assessing the bail concerns for an accused person, including, whether the accused has engaged in behaviour that constitutes domestic abuse, and in relation to domestic violence offences against an intimate partner-the views of any victim or family member of a victim.
Electronic monitoring bail condition must be imposed if an accused person who has been charged with a show cause offence in relation to a serious domestic violence offence (not a coercive control offence) has been granted bail. This applies except if satisfied sufficient reasons exist, in the interests of justice, to justify not imposing the condition.
The bail authority’s decision to grant an accused person bail for a show cause offence involving a serious domestic violence offence, a coercive control offence, or an offence under Part 3 of the Crimes Act, Division 10, subdivision 2(sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated version of same, and aggravated version of same in company), can be stayed for up to 3 days pending a further supreme court bail application. This gives the Director of Public Prosecutions or NSW Police officer the power to effectively stay a court’s decision to grant bail and have it effectively reviewed by the Supreme Court in the hope to refuse the accused person bail.