Coercive control monitoring report June 2025

Release date: Friday 19 September 2025

Link to report summary:


From legislation to insight: NSW’s first year of Coercive Control enforcement

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has released data on the first year of the state’s landmark coercive control legislation, which came into force on 1 July 2024. The legislation criminalises patterns of abusive behaviour in intimate partner relationships, marking a significant shift in how domestic abuse is recognised and addressed in NSW. 

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director of BOCSAR, said the data shows a slow but consistent uptake of the new coercive control laws:  

“In the 12 months since the legislation came into effect, NSW Police have recorded 297 incidents of coercive control. While still early, this is a meaningful sign that awareness is increasing, victims are beginning to come forward, and enforcement is developing in a deliberate and measured way”.

Key findings from the first year

  • On average, each coercive control incident involved four distinct controlling behaviours. The most common was harassment, monitoring or tracking, present in 59% of incidents. Other frequently recorded controlling behaviours included:

o    threats or intimidation (53%),
o    financial abuse (48%), and
o    shaming or humiliation (45%).

  • Regional NSW recorded a higher rate of coercive control incidents (5.9 per 100,000) compared to Greater Sydney (2.3 per 100,000). Areas such as the Far West and Orana and Central West showed rates three times the state average.  
  • Women accounted for 94% of all victims, with 92% of incidents involving a female victim and a male alleged offender.
  • Nearly half the victims (47%) had a prior history of domestic violence recorded by police, and 31% had previously experienced domestic violence involving the same alleged offender.
  • In 62% of incidents, coercive control was accompanied by another offence, most commonly: intimidation or stalking (37%), domestic assault (35%), malicious damage (12%)
  • 23% of victims had an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) in place at the time of the incident, while a further 57% had an ADVO issued following the event

Few charges laid despite volume of incidents

Despite nearly 300 recorded incidents in the first year, only nine coercive control charges have been laid by NSW Police to date.

“The small number of charges highlights the complexity of investigating and prosecuting this form of abuse,” said Ms Fitzgerald. “With a median time of 131 days from the police report  to charge, it’s clear that building a prosecutable case under this new legislation requires time, evidence, and a deep understanding of the patterns of behaviour  involved.”

“In the first 12 months, only three coercive control charges were finalised in court ,” said Ms Fitzgerald. “In two cases, the charges were withdrawn by prosecution. And in the third case, the defendant pleaded guilty, meaning no contested charges have yet been tested through the judicial process. The true test of this legislation will come when a case proceeds to trial , allowing the courts to examine the evidence, interpret the law, and set important precedents for how coercive control is prosecuted in NSW.”

For comments please contact:  

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research.  
Phone: +61 423 139 687 
Email: [email protected]



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