Loophole Closed: NSW Bill Targets Ex-Partner Violence

0:00It's March 24th. This is Sydney News Today, local news powered by AI. A high court ruling last year acquitted a new South Wales man of breaking and entering his former apartment, even though he kicked in the door at 6am to assault his ex-partner. The man had moved out, stopped paying rent, and taken his things, but he stayed on the lease as a co-tenant, giving him legal right to enter by force. The case started in District Court, where judges dismissed the break and intercharge because of his lease status. He then pleaded guilty to lesser offenses like common assault, intimidation, and property damage, which carry much lighter maximum sentences of two, two, five years, compared to twenty for the original charge. Decenting high court judges called it a clear, forcible entry against the woman's wishes, arguing it left her unsafe in her own home. They worried lesser charges don't capture the full seriousness of invading a partner space during domestic violence. Now, the new South Wales government is introducing a bill this week to fix the loophole.

1:05A target's ex-partners who no longer live there, but commit personal violence offenses like assault or stalking against their current or former, intimate partner in a dwelling. The change is the fine non-occupants clearly, excluding things like theft to protect victims retrieving belongings and kick in with court orders barring, residents. Officers say this holds abusers accountable without unintended harm, especially risky post-separation periods.