Date Time
Development of national principles to address coercive control
Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments have agreed on the terms of reference for a critical program of work to develop a common national understanding of coercive and controlling behaviour.
On 9 June 2021, the Australian Attorney-General, Senator the Hon Michaela Cash, chaired the Meeting of Attorneys-General, with representatives from each jurisdiction. Attorneys agreed to work together to co-design national principles to address coercive control, in consultation with Women’s Safety officials.
Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour that family violence perpetrators use to assert emotional, psychological, physical and/or financial control over victim-survivors. A NSW study of intimate partner homicides between 2008 and 2016 demonstrated that 99% were preceded by coercive control. It is a critical issue.