Key Points
- Queensland's parliament passed legislation on Wednesday making coercive control a standalone offence.
- The laws are expected to come into force next year and will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.
- Queensland joins NSW as the only Australian jurisdictions to pass legislation criminalising coercive control.
This article contains references to domestic violence
Coercive control will become a crime in Queensland after the state's parliament passed landmark legislation.
The laws are expected to come into force next year, and will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.
They make Queensland the second Australian jurisdiction to move towards making coercive control a standalone offence.
What is coercive control?
is a pattern of behaviours that aim to instil fear and control a person, according to Queensland domestic violence not-for-profit DV Connect.
It can be subtle and include emotional, psychological and economic abuse, sexual coercion, cyberstalking, isolation, and intimidation.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles, said coercive control was an "insidious" form of abuse.
"Coercive control is the most common factor that leads to domestic violence murders," he said.
"We have made strides to help people identify and report coercive control and we know by criminalising this offence, even more lives will be saved."
The parents of - who was murdered by her estranged husband in 2020, alongside her three children - were among those pushing for the reform.
They hailed the passing of the bill as "a mighty step forward" — but warned the battle to prevent was "far from over".
"We need to keep raising awareness of the dangers of controlling and psychological abuse, so victims are empowered to hold their perpetrators accountable," Hannah's father Lloyd Clarke said.
"We need to speak out against those signs of control when we see them in our mates, in our family members, and even in ourselves — and recognise that in Queensland, this isn't just poor behaviour anymore; it's a crime and you won’t get away with it."
What will the law be?
When it comes into force, it will be a crime for an adult in a domestic relationship to:
- Engage in behaviour against their partner that consists of domestic violence on more than one occasion,
- Intend through that behaviour to coerce or control the other person; and
- Be reasonably likely to cause them physical, emotional, financial, psychological or mental harm, whether temporary or permanent.
An , similar to NSW and Victoria's, also passed as part of Wednesday's bill.
It will criminalise the tampering or removing of a condom without consent - called - to bring Queensland in line with other jurisdictions, barring the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Other reforms in the bill include:
- Introducing jury directions for sexual offence proceedings
- Imposing a duty on the court to disallow improper questions
- A new offence of engaging in domestic and family violence to aid a respondent
- New aggravating factors for domestic and family violence offences and the establishment of a court-based perpetrator diversion scheme
Where is coercive control already a criminal offence?
In 2022, NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to pass legislation — although the laws won't come into effect until July this year.
The NSW laws will apply to violence committed against the perpetrators both current and former intimate partners.
Coercive controlling behaviours have been a criminal offence in Tasmania for 20 years under the Family Violence Act 2004, which covers economic abuse and emotional abuse or intimidation.
Clarke said he hoped other states and territories would follow.
"We will continue to speak out until coercive control is criminalised throughout Australia," he said.
Western Australia is currently in the early stages of consultation for its coercive control laws.
While coercion is listed as a form of domestic violence under the ACT's Family Violence Act, the territory's government is considering making it a standalone offence.
Is Queensland ready to enforce the laws?
Women's Legal Service Queensland chief executive Nadia Bromley said the legislation passing parliament was a "significant milestone" in improving the safety in the state.
"The law has a critical role to play in both holding people using violence to account and in raising community awareness of coercive control as a form of violence," she said.
But she warned there was a lot more that still needed to be done to "create more consistent and safer outcomes for victim-survivors".
A 2022 report into the Queensland police's responses to domestic and family violence found the culture within the force had allowed sexist, misogynistic, and racist attitudes to flourish.
It said "a failure of leadership" had allowed that culture to go "unchecked" for years, impacting the ability of police to consistently respond well to domestic and family violence.
The Queensland government said work was underway to ensure frontline responders, as well as the community, were prepared for the coercive control laws to take effect.
Queensland police is expected to roll out a training program for officers from July this year.
Additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
Women from migrant and refugee backgrounds who are experiencing family or domestic violence can contact inTouch, the Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence on 1800 755 988 or visit .
