NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the proposed scheme,based on the United Kingdom’s domestic violence disclosure scheme known as Clare’s Law,would help people to make informed decisions about their relationships.
“There are simply too many heartbreaking stories of women and men being seriously hurt or murdered in circumstances where the perpetrators had a history of prior domestic and violent criminal offences that they didn’t know about,” Perrottet said in a statement on Monday.
Clare’s Law,named after 36-year-old Clare Wood,who was murdered by a man with a lengthy history of domestic violence whom she met via Facebook,came into effect in the UK in 2014.
Under the UK scheme,members of the public may apply to police for information about a potential domestic abuser. Police are also empowered,under certain circumstances,to disclose information about abusers to the public without being asked.
The proposed NSW scheme would enable a person who may be at risk to apply through an online portal or phone line to access information about their partner,which would be available in multiple languages. Any information would be approved by NSW Police before it is provided,with strict privacy controls in place,including criminal penalties for malicious applications.
Full Stop Australia chief executive Hayley Foster said the new trial was an “encouraging” step,but that it would not be a silver bullet,or even the “centrepiece of a scheme that keeps people safe”.