NSW is introducing laws that penalise perpetrators for breaking and entering into a home where domestic violence victim survivors live, regardless of whether the abuser has their name on a lease or is a joint owner.
It comes after a controversial High Court decision in 2023 ruled in favour of a defendant who kicked in the triple-locked door of his former partner's home and assaulted her.
In a 4-3 decision, the court found the offender had a lawful authority to enter the apartment he was jointly leasing, regardless of whether the woman wanted him to and despite him having moved out months earlier.
The decision exposed a gap in NSW burglary law that other states had long ago plugged.
The new "narrowly crafted provision" was intended to send a message to perpetrators that domestic and family violence cannot be skirted legally with workarounds, Women's Minister Jodie Harrison said.
"Victims of domestic family violence have absolutely had their life shattered. They deserve to be and to feel safe," she told reporters on Wednesday.
"Violence is not acceptable. It's not acceptable to the victim, it's not acceptable to the community, and it's not acceptable right across our laws."
Changes will also ensure an accused person will no longer be considered an occupant of a residence if a restraining order, a court order, a bail condition or parole stops them from living at the home.
The government in 2025 made it easier for renters to flee abusive relationships under tenancy changes to help people in dangerous living situations.
It gave tenants the right to leave a shared lease due to domestic violence without informing co-tenants.
Premier Chris Minns said he was troubled by data showing the fastest growing cohort of homeless people in NSW were middle-aged women, often escaping a violent relationship.
About 7700 women return to perpetrators each year due to having nowhere affordable to live, according to official figures.
The High Court judgment known as BA v The King related to a man who stormed his former partner's home near Canberra in July 2019.
He grabbed the woman inside by the shoulders, shouted at her and threw her phone on the floor as she tried to call for help.
He pleaded guilty to common assault, intimidation and destruction of property in the NSW District Court, but contested the aggravated break and enter charge.
His acquittal on that charge by the District Court sparked a successful Crown appeal and orders for a retrial, only for the man to win his appeal in the highest court in Australia.
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