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 10 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 June 2024)

Government sector
  • Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson of the Taskforce
  • 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.
Legal sector
  • Chairperson: Legal Aid NSW
  • Law Reform and Legal Services, Department of Communities and Justice
  • 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.
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
  • Ministry of Health.
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
  • Immigration Advice and Rights Centre
  • Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW
  • Mosaic Multicultural Connections
  • NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)
  • Ministry of Health.
LGBTQIA+
  • Chairperson: NSW Health
  • ACON
  • The Gender Centre
  • HIV/AIDS Legal Centre
  • Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre.
People with disability
  • Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson of the Taskforce
  • Housing, Homelessness and Disability, Department of Communities and Justice
  • People with Disability Australia
  • NSW Ageing and Disability Commission
  • Carers NSW
  • First Peoples Disability Network Australia
  • Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW
  • Mental Health Commission of NSW.
Older persons
  • Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson of the Taskforce
  • NSW Ageing and Disability Commission
  • Older Women’s Network NSW
  • Carers NSW
  • Seniors Rights Service
  • Council on the Ageing NSW
  • Country Women's Association of NSW
  • Dementia Australia.
Children and youth
  • Chairperson: The Cabinet Office
  • Youth Justice NSW, Department of Communities and Justice
  • Advocate for Children and Young People
  • Youth Law Australia
  • Youth Action
  • Barnados Australia.
Lived expertise
  • Chairperson: Independent member of the Taskforce
  • The Lived Expertise Reference Group has now formed following an expressions of interest process.
Last updated:

27 Jun 2024