New domestic violence data: monitoring Apprehended Violence Orders and coercive control in NSW

Release date: Wednesday 9 October 2024

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has released new domestic violence data which significantly improves our understanding of Apprehended Violence Orders.

Apprehended Violence Orders are a cornerstone of our response to domestic violence and the most common intervention received by domestic violence victims in NSW. Until recently, however, information about AVOs has been limited. 

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, says “Apprehended Violence Orders are a crucial element in our response to domestic violence due to their volume and effectiveness.   

• Evidence shows that victims experience less domestic violence when an AVO is in place, plus
• AVOs are also a scalable response to the widespread problem of domestic violence, as we can see by the more than 100,000 orders in place in NSW right now. 

New data shows that the number of AVOs in force has increased significantly over the last five years.  This is due to a rise in orders being initiated by police, along with an increase in the standard duration of AVOs from 12 months to 24 months. 

The rate at which AVOs are breached is an important indication of victim safety.  For the first time we can now see that, while one in five AVOs experience a breach, the breach rate has not changed over the past five years.”

Key Points:

• Nearly 50,000 domestic AVOs commenced in NSW (48,814 in 2023/24), up 32% from 37,099 domestic AVO in 2019/20.
• Police apply for 98% of domestic AVOs, while 1% are initiated by a member of the public. 
• While all AVOs require that the offender not assault, threaten or intimidate the protected person, only 40% of domestic AVOs restrict the offender from having any contact with the protected person.
• In quarter 2 2024, there were 100,111 domestic AVOs in force. This is a 52% increase in the four years since quarter 2 2020 (66,008 domestic AVOs in force).
• Among the 100,111 ADVOs in force in quarter 2 2024, 4.0% were breached in the previous three months and 20.7% had ever been breached.

New Coercive Control data for August 2024

In August 2024, the second month of the coercive control reforms, NSW Police recorded 33 incidents, up from 23 in July 2024.  Each coercive control incident included an average of three controlling behaviours with the most common being harassment or tracking, shaming or humiliating, and threats or intimidation.

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research , says “The criminalisation of coercive control is still very recent, with the law only taking effect from 1 July 2024.  Because coercive control relates to a pattern of behaviour rather than a single incident, we can expect the number of recorded incidents to continue to grow over time.”  

For comment please contact:

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research.

Phone: +61 423 139 687
Email: jackie.fitzgerald@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Copies of the reports: www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au