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- Two survey measures suggest domestic and family violence (DFV) has declined in NSW over recent years, according to
- by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).
BOCSAR said in a statement, ‘To better understand whether domestic and family violence is increasing or decreasing, BOCSAR examined five complementary indicators’:
- ‘Women and children killed in DFV-related murder
- ‘Hospitalisations of women and children owing to DFV
- ‘Women’s self-reported experiences of violence
- ‘Adults’ self-reported DFV victimisation
- ‘Police-recorded DFV-related grievous bodily harm offences against women and children
‘Across these indicators, there is no evidence of an increase in domestic and family violence. Over the eight years to June 2025, three measures showed no significant change, while the two measures based on the annual ABS Crime Victimisation survey showed significant declines’.
‘Self-reported violent victimisation among women fell from 4.1% in 2017–18 to 3.0% in 2024–25. Self-reported DFV victimisation also declined, from 0.91% in July 2016–June 2019 to 0.65% in July 2022–June 2025’.
BOCSAR Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald said the decline in survey-based measures was an important finding.
“The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police,” Ms Fitzgerald said. “It suggests that, despite rising reports of domestic violence to police, domestic violence in the community is not increasing and may be trending down”.
Fitzgerald said the findings are ‘notable because they contrast with both public perceptions and police recorded data’.
Complex and deeply under-reported crime
In response, Delia Donovan, CEO of Domestic Violence – the NSW peak body body representing over 200 specialist domestic violence services, said domestic and family violence is a complex and deeply under-reported crime.
‘Survey findings should be considered alongside the experiences of specialist frontline domestic and family violence services,’ said Donovan.
A reduction in self-reported victimisation should not be interpreted as evidence that domestic and family violence has reduced across the community. Many victim-survivors never disclose their experiences in surveys or to police because of fear of retaliation, concerns they won’t be believed, shame, coercive control, previous negative experiences with the justice system, racism, and for some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the very real fear of child removal.
Waitlists regularly exceed three months
‘As the peak body representing more than 200 specialist domestic and family violence organisations across NSW, our members are seeing a very different picture. Some services are operating at up to nine times their funded capacity, waitlists regularly exceed three months, and in our 2025-member survey, 94% of responding services reported demand had increased compared with the previous year.
‘Those frontline experiences cannot be overlooked when assessing whether domestic and family violence is increasing, decreasing or remaining stable. Demand for specialist services remains overwhelming, and for victim-survivors unable to access support when they need it, the consequences can be life-threatening.
‘Rather than viewing these findings as a sign the problem has been solved, they reinforce the need for continued investment in prevention, early intervention and specialist domestic and family violence services. Improvements in one measure should never become a reason for complacency while frontline services continue to face record levels of demand.
‘Every dataset tells part of the story. To understand the true scale of domestic and family violence in NSW, we must consider research alongside the lived reality of victim-survivors and the evidence from the specialist services supporting them every day – who generally remain absent from all sources of data used to compile these findings.
‘Whole-of-government response starts with collecting whole-of-government data’, said Donovan.
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