The Minns Labor Government is strengthening protections for domestic violence victims and disrupting organised crime networks with landmark new laws being introduced into NSW Parliament today, targeting stalking and the criminal misuse of tracking devices.
The changes respond to the NSW Crime Commission's Project Hakea report finding tracking and other surveillance devices are increasingly used to facilitate domestic and family violence and organised crime
Under reforms being introduced to NSW Parliament today, it will become a criminal offence to covertly monitor a person where the victim is unaware they are being stalked.
The existing offence of stalking requires the victim survivor to fear physical or mental harm, a threshold which cannot be met if the perpetrator successfully conceals their conduct.
The new offence under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 will cover covert stalking which would reasonably be considered to cause someone to fear physical or mental harm if they were aware of it.
This is a carefully crafted, targeted offence which will not criminalise parents tracking their child's social media for safety purposes or following someone on social media out of genuine interest.
Project Hakea initially set out to look at how tracking devices were being used by organised crime networks.
But it quickly became clear they were also being widely used by domestic and family violence perpetrators to stalk, intimidate, monitor and harass victims.
Notably, between 2010 and 2023, 82 per cent of offenders charged by the NSW Police Force with unlawfully using a tracking device were committing domestic violence offences.
Location tracking is often just one part of a broader pattern of controlling behaviour within a relationship, and it can pose serious risks to both the physical safety and mental health of victims.
The legislation being introduced today will also make it an offence to direct a third party to engage in stalking on someone's behalf or promote the unlawful use of a surveillance device.
It follows the NSW Crime Commission's Project Hakea finding some private investigators and 'spy stores' promote the illegal use of surveillance devices and offer illegal surveillance services.
A new offence under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 ensures someone can be prosecuted for advertising a device in a way which encourages its unlawful use, even if this is not what the supplier intended.
The supply of a surveillance device with the intention of unlawful use is already banned.
The Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 is another example of the Government's measures to hold domestic violence offenders to account and protect victim survivors including:
- Making it harder for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail and ensuring those who are bailed are electronically monitored by Corrective Services NSW.
- Strengthening penalties for serious, repeat breaches of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders.
- Bringing in Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders to allow for the strictest possible supervision and monitoring of high-risk perpetrators.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
"The truth is technology is being weaponised against women, and our laws have not kept pace. These reforms change that.
"For the first time, covert stalking through tracking devices will be a criminal offence, giving police the powers they need to intervene and crack down.
"Noone should have to discover they have been monitored for months or years with no legal recourse."
Attorney General Michael Daley said:
"We are strengthening the law to target offenders who abuse private investigative services or surveillance devices to facilitate stalking.
"This legislation closes gaps in the law identified by the NSW Crime Commission.
"It makes it easier to hold criminals who use tracking devices to facilitate organised crime and domestic and family violence to account."
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said:
"Domestic and family violence is a blight on our society and we will not stand for it.
"Project Hakea's revelations are deeply concerning and demonstrates how abusers use constantly updating technology. In response, the Government is working to close loopholes, strengthen regulations and impose tougher penalties for the misuse of tracking devices.
"We cannot continue down the current trajectory of domestic and family violence. Police are doing everything they can to disrupt and prevent this vile offending and the Government backs them fully."
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said:
"The Minns Government is working to build a safer New South Wales for victim survivors of domestic and family violence.
"We know perpetrators find many different ways to exert control over victim-survivors. This includes stalking either through personal investigators or covertly monitoring them through surveillance devices.
"We have already criminalised coercive control and these reforms, by closing gaps in the current laws, will be another way we are holding perpetrators to account and increasing protections for victim-survivors."
NSW Women's Safety Commissioner Hannah Tonkin said:
"Research shows that the majority of women experiencing domestic and family violence experience some form of technology-facilitated abuse. This often includes the use of tracking and surveillance devices as a tool of control and coercion.
"The NSW Crime Commission found that one in four people who purchased GPS tracking devices had a criminal history of domestic and family violence. The true number is likely to be much higher, given that this crime is significantly underreported.
"This reform sends an important message that the use of tracking and surveillance devices to facilitate domestic and family violence will not be tolerated. It is an important step to prevent technology-facilitated abuse and support victim survivors."
