Information about going to court for an abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partner charge.
Coercive control is an ongoing and repeated pattern of behaviour used to control or dominate another person. It can be behaviour that:
Coercive control can happen in any type of relationship. It can happen with an intimate partner, including after a relationship ends. It can also happen between family members, people residing together or in a carer relationship.
From 1 July 2024, coercive control towards a current or former intimate partner will be criminalised in NSW. The new criminal offence is called ‘abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partners’. The law will only apply to abusive behaviour that occurred after 1 July 2024. The behaviour must have been engaged in within New South Wales but may also include conduct in other jurisdictions.
Abusive behaviour involves:
Abusive behaviour may include engaging in, or threatening to engage in, behaviour that:
At court you will need to tell the court if you are pleading guilty or not guilty. You might have other options too, like negotiating with the police or making a Section 14 application (a mental health application).
If you plead ‘guilty’, you will be sentenced. You will be given time to make submissions about your personal circumstances and share any documents.
If you plead ‘not guilty’, the police will provide you with all the evidence they have against you before the hearing date. If there is video evidence, such as CCTV footage or a video statement, you may be able to view this at the police station before the court date. You will need to speak to police to arrange this.
For more information on going to court for an abusive behaviour charge, see Going to court.
If you have been charged with abusive behaviour, you should get legal advice.
If you go to court and plead not guilty to a charge of abusive behaviour towards a current or former intimate partner, police must prove:
The police do not have to prove that harm was actually caused to the other person but that a reasonable person would consider that your behaviour would be likely to cause fear or harm.
Unless the police can prove all these things, the court must find you not guilty.
It is a defence to the charge if the course of conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances.
If you have been charged, you should get legal advice.
Coercive control is more than a single act or instance of abusive behaviour. It involves a course of conduct that consists of abusive behaviour. A course of conduct means engaging in behaviour:
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