The Act implements recommendations made by the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues in its 2012 report Domestic Violence Trends and Issues in NSW with respect to police powers and recommendations made in the Interim Review of Frivolous and Vexatious Apprehended Personal Violence Orders conducted by the NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice.
The Act will amend the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 to:
- Allow senior police officers at or above the rank of sergeant to issue provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders;
- Expand police powers to direct a person to go to or remain at a particular place or to detain a person to serve a Domestic Violence Order;
- Include protections in relation to the issue of provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders and the power of detention;
- Introduce an offence to make a false or misleading statement in an application for an Apprehended Personal Violence order;
- Strengthen a registrar’s discretion to refuse an application for filing a Personal Violence Order; and
- Provide a presumption in favour of mediation in applications for Personal Violence Orders and a non-exhaustive list of considerations when making a referral to mediation.
NSW Police have advised they expect to commence the implementation of police issued provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence orders by approximately April 2014, by which time senior officers at or above the rank of sergeant will have completed appropriate training.
