Communities and Justice

Coercive control Reference Groups

Section 54I(5) of the Crimes Act 1900 requires the Taskforce to establish Reference Groups to ‘consider and provide advice and recommendations to the Taskforce’ about the impact of the coercive control legislation on specific communities and on particular elements of the reform. 

Reference Groups are to consist of members who have expertise in, or legal knowledge of, the subject matter for which the Reference Group is established. There are 6 Reference Groups, each chaired by a member of the Taskforce to ensure that the views of Reference Groups are considered by the Taskforce.

Reference Group membership (as of March 2025)

Government sector
  • Chairperson: Law Reform and Legal Services, Department of Communities and Justice
  • Courts, Tribunals and Service Delivery, Department of Communities and Justice
  • NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
  • NSW Police Force 
  • Supreme Court of NSW
  • District Court of NSW
  • Local Court of NSW
  • Judicial Commission of NSW
  • Ministry of Health
  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions  
  • Youth Justice NSW
  • Legal Aid NSW
  • Corrective Services NSW.
Legal sector
  • Chairperson: Legal Aid NSW
  • Law Society of NSW
  • New South Wales Bar Association
  • Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)
  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
  • NSW Public Defenders
  • Women's Legal Service NSW
  • Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre
  • Senior Counsel, NSW Bar (Individual capacity)
  •  Immigration Advice and Rights Centre
  • Youth Law Australia
  • Senior Rights Service
  • HIV/AIDS Legal Centre. 
Domestic and Family Violence Service Delivery sector
  • Chairperson: Independent member of the Taskforce
  • Women’s Legal Service NSW
  • Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre
  • Full Stop Australia
  • Domestic Violence NSW
  • No to Violence
  • Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre
  • ACON.
First Nations communities
  • Chairperson: Aboriginal Affairs NSW, Premier's Department
  • Transforming Aboriginal Outcomes, Department of Communities and Justice
  • Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre
  • First Nations Women’s Legal Program, Women’s Legal Service NSW
  • Aboriginal Women’s Advisory Network
  • NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Regional Alliances
  • NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations
  • First Peoples Disability Network Australia
  • Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT).
CALD communities
  • Chairperson: Multicultural NSW
  • Settlement Services International
  • Muslim Women Australia
  • Immigrant Women’s SpeakOut Association of NSW
  • Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW
  • Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW
  • Mosaic Multicultural Connections
  • NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS).
Community sector specialists
  • Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson of the Taskforce.
    • Early Intervention, Disability & Inclusion, Department of Communities and Justice
    • People with Disability Australia
    • NSW Ageing and Disability Commission
    • Carers NSW
    • Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW
    • Mental Health Commission of NSW
    • Older Women’s Network NSW
    • Council on the Ageing NSW
    • Country Women’s Association of NSW.
    • Senior Rights Service
    • Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People
    • Youth Action
    • Barnados Australia
Last updated:

27 Mar 2025