New Bail laws targeting Domestic Violence accused
On 1 July 2024 changes to the Bail Act 2013 aimed at making it harder for persons accused of serious domestic violence offences to be released on bail came into force in New South Wales. Serious domestic violence offences, for the purposes of these changes, include strangulation with intent to commit another indictable offence, sexual intercourse without consent (rape) and kidnapping.
The changes followed a public outcry at the release of Daniel Billings, accused of various sexual and domestic violence offences against his former partner, Molly Ticehurst, who is alleged to have gone on to violently murder following his release on bail relating to those charges.
The fact that Mr Billings was granted bail by a Registrar (a court officer and not a Magistrate or Judge) led to a change in the practise which allowed non judicial officers to grant court bail to persons accused of serious offences, which often happened in regional courts on weekends.
Show Cause Bail
The new bail laws add the above serious domestic violence offences to the existing list of offences for which an accused person must ‘show cause’ why their detention on remand is not justified. That creates a presumption against bail being granted for people accused of not only those ‘serious domestic violence offences’, but more controversially, the newly created ‘coercive control’ offence of ‘abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partners’ has also been designated as a show cause offence under the Bail Act.
Electronic Monitoring
The new bail laws also now mean that electronic monitoring, most commonly using via ankle bracelets, is now a mandatory bail condition for those accused of a serious domestic violence, unless they can satisfy the court that sufficient reasons exist, in the interests of justice, to justify not imposing electronic monitoring. The cost of the electronic monitoring is to be borne by Community Corrections.
New Bail Considerations
Additionally, when determining whether or not to grant bail, the court is now required to take into account alleged behaviour engaged in by the accused that may constitute ‘domestic abuse’ (according to section 6A of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007), with the Bail Act giving as examples behaviour that is physically abusive or violent, including strangulation and sexual assault, animal abuse and stalking as examples of behaviour that may constitute ‘domestic abuse’.
Where a person is accused of a serious domestic violence offence, the court is also now required to take into consideration the views of any victim of the offence or any family member of a victim to the extent relevant to a concern that the accused person could, if released from custody, endanger the safety of victims, individuals or the community.
Stay of Bail
Finally, where a judicial officer grants a person accused of a serious domestic violence and/or the newly introduced offence of abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partner (coercive control), a prosecutor can have that decision ‘stayed’ immediately, meaning that the accused person will remain behind bars until the Supreme Court determines bail.
