A four-day crackdown on domestic violence in New South Wales (NSW) has led to 752 people being charged on related matters and 1,629 charges in total.
After a brief dip in 2021/22, domestic violence incidents—including murder—have continued to rise steadily in the state.
In the 2024/25 year, 38,169 incidents were reported to authorities, equating to 457.5 per 100,000 people. Five years earlier, those figures were 15.9 and 12.4 percent lower, respectively.
Last year, 33 people were killed in NSW as a direct result of domestic violence—14 women, 11 children and eight men, up from 29 deaths five years earlier.
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, three out of every five domestic violence victims are women, and one in 10 are children. Aboriginal women are also eight times more likely to be recorded as a victim compared to non-Aboriginal women.
Young people account for 10 percent of offenders, while three out of every four are men.
The criminal justice system attempts to address domestic violence through various measures, including the use of Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs). The use of these has also risen sharply, by 33.9 percent over the past five years, to almost 105,000 last year.
In 2022, police charged over 72 percent of those accused of domestic violence, but this led to convictions in just 39 percent of cases.
In the latest blitz, which concluded on Nov. 16, police conducted 1,464 bail checks and made 13,369 AVO checks, identifying 395 breaches of court orders. They also conducted 120 firearms prohibition order searches, seizing 87 firearms and 30 other weapons.
One in four women in Australia has experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15, according to official data, with the social and economic cost estimated to be $26 billion annually.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said Operation Amarok sent “a powerful message to every victim-survivor that you are not alone and police are working every day to protect you.
“With more than 150,000 calls for help every single year, police understand the urgency and the heartbreak of this crisis,” Catley said.
“Their commitment is unwavering, and they will continue to do everything in their power to keep victims safe.”
Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna described domestic and family violence as “unacceptable” with “no place in our communities.”
In October, the state introduced laws for a standard non-parole period of 25 years for the murder of a current or former intimate partner, as part of efforts to curb domestic violence statewide.
