NSW Launches Interactive Database of 26 Years of Domestic Violence Deaths; 2024-25 Homicides Match Prior Decade Peak
New data from the Domestic Violence Death Review Team shows one-third of NSW homicides over 26 years were domestic violence related. The figures cover almost 300 women killed by intimate partners.
The Sydney Morning HeraldThe NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team launched an interactive website that details every domestic violence death recorded in the state over the past 26 years to March 2026. The site includes perpetrator and victim profiles along with information on how and where the deaths occurred. One-third of all homicide deaths in NSW during that period were domestic violence related.
Almost 300 women were killed by a current or former intimate partner after a documented history of domestic violence. Domestic violence homicides reached 36 in 2024-25, matching the decade-high total recorded in 2014-15. Men accounted for about 80 per cent of domestic violence perpetrators, with most offenders falling in the 30-34 age group.
The average profile of a domestic violence killer in NSW is an Australian-born man in his early 30s armed with a knife. Stabbings far outnumbered blunt-force assaults and shootings, followed by suffocation or strangulation. NSW State Coroner Judge Teresa O’Sullivan said the new tool would provide crucial information to policymakers, frontline workers, researchers and advocates.
She expressed concern about the recent increase in domestic violence homicides. Judge O’Sullivan said the data showed domestic violence homicide was often perpetrated from within the cultural mainstream by all types of people. “This is significant because it challenges the misconception that domestic violence is confined to particular groups or occurs only on the margins of society,” she said.
The Minns government strengthened the Bail Act to make it harder for alleged domestic violence perpetrators to be released. It allocated $100 million to cover the expected costs of keeping alleged perpetrators in prison and announced an additional $227 million over five years to support victim-survivors in the justice system. The government also introduced new laws to deter stalking.
Premier Chris Minns ruled out a royal commission into domestic violence two years ago, stating that NSW lacked the time and money for a lengthy inquiry. The state budget will be handed down by Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on June 23.
