Wagga’s family support workers have praised the latest series of reforms, which established a tough new presumption that all domestic violence offenders would either be jailed or receive a supervision-based community sentence as a starting point. 

As of Monday, it is now up to the offender to prove why they should receive an alternative sentence. 

Nani Coulter of Wagga’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service said these reforms would go a long way in making offenders more accountable for their actions. 

“Victims often state that defendants have ‘gotten away with it’ after sentencing,” Ms Coulter said.

“These new presumptions will mean the defendant will have to address the issues that led to the offending.” 

At last count, Wagga had the 20^th highest number of apprehended violence orders in all of NSW, with no less than 38 applications for legal protection going through the city’s Local Court on Tuesday alone. 

Those numbers quickly add up, with the team at Wagga’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service averaging 210 referrals from police every month.

As part of the latest sentencing reforms, courts will now have access to more individualised information on each offender in the lead-up to the sentencing process. 

Ms Coulter said by taking a more individual approach, these reforms also signified a good step towards addressing the root causes behind each perpetrator’s violent offending in a bid to successfully rehabilitate them.

“Previously, unless the defendant identified an issue, or if the offence was serious enough to order a pre-sentence report, no potential issues like alcohol or drug abuse were identified in the sentencing,” she said.

“We often hear from victims that they wished their partner or family member would get help for their issues – the sentencing reforms mean the court will have the power to enforce these and have Corrections NSW monitor the situation.” 

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