Protections for domestic violence victims are being strengthened, says the NSW Labor government.
In a media release they say, organised crime networks will also be disrupted, ‘with landmark new laws being introduced into NSW Parliament today, targeting stalking and the criminal misuse of tracking devices’.
‘The changes respond to the NSW Crime Commission’s Project Hakea report finding tracking and other surveillance devices are increasingly used to facilitate domestic and family violence and organised crime
‘Under reforms being introduced to NSW Parliament today, it will become a criminal offence to covertly monitor a person where the victim is unaware they are being stalked.
‘The existing offence of stalking requires the victim survivor to fear physical or mental harm, a threshold which cannot be met if the perpetrator successfully conceals their conduct.
‘The new offence under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 will cover covert stalking which would reasonably be considered to cause someone to fear physical or mental harm if they were aware of it.
‘This is a carefully crafted, targeted offence which will not criminalise parents tracking their child’s social media for safety purposes or following someone on social media out of genuine interest.
‘Project Hakea initially set out to look at how tracking devices were being used by organised crime networks.
‘But it quickly became clear they were also being widely used by domestic and family violence perpetrators to stalk, intimidate, monitor and harass victims.
‘Notably, between 2010 and 2023, 82 per cent of offenders charged by the NSW Police Force with unlawfully using a tracking device were committing domestic violence offences.
‘Location tracking is often just one part of a broader pattern of controlling behaviour within a relationship, and it can pose serious risks to both the physical safety and mental health of victims.
‘The legislation being introduced today will also make it an offence to direct a third party to engage in stalking on someone’s behalf or promote the unlawful use of a surveillance device.
‘It follows the NSW Crime Commission’s Project Hakea finding some private investigators and ‘spy stores’ promote the illegal use of surveillance devices and offer illegal surveillance services.
‘A new offence under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 ensures someone can be prosecuted for advertising a device in a way which encourages its unlawful use, even if this is not what the supplier intended.
‘The supply of a surveillance device with the intention of unlawful use is already banned.
‘The Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 is another example of the Government’s measures to hold domestic violence offenders to account and protect victim survivors including:
• Making it harder for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail and ensuring those who are bailed are electronically monitored by Corrective Services NSW.
• Strengthening penalties for serious, repeat breaches of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders.
• Bringing in Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders to allow for the strictest possible supervision and monitoring of high-risk perpetrators’.
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