Domestic Violence Drops in Australia for First Time in Decade

After years of rising concern, domestic violence rates in Australia are finally moving in the right direction.

A major new study from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reveals that women self-reporting domestic violence dropped from 0.91 percent between 2016 and 2019 to 0.65 percent between 2022 and 2025. This marks the first significant decline in nearly a decade across Australia's most populous state.

The trend isn't limited to New South Wales. Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia are all showing similar downward patterns, suggesting a nationwide shift.

What makes this research groundbreaking is how it gathered information. Rather than relying on police reports or service data, researchers surveyed 6,000 people directly in their communities. They asked respondents whether they had experienced physical assault or face-to-face threats from intimate partners or family members.

"We're actually going to people in community and asking those people whether they have experienced violence," explained Jackie Fitzgerald, the bureau's director. "We haven't previously seen evidence domestic violence might also be falling until we saw this."

The study also tracked women aged 15 and older who reported violence to police. Those rates fell by more than one percent, dropping from 4.1 percent in 2017-2018 to 3.0 percent in 2024-2025.

The Bright Side

This research helps explain a puzzling contradiction. While police reports of domestic violence have increased over the past decade, actual violence in the community appears to be declining. The rise in reports likely reflects growing awareness and victims feeling more supported when coming forward, not an increase in violence itself.

The findings also bring perspective during a time when high-profile domestic violence cases dominate headlines. While every case is a tragedy, the data shows that domestic homicides in NSW have remained stable at 19 to 26 deaths annually from 2017 to 2025. Hospitalization rates have also held steady at around 900 per 100,000 people per year.

This doesn't mean the work is finished. Fitzgerald emphasized that women still vastly outnumber men as victims, and men remain the overwhelming majority of perpetrators. But for the first time in years, prevention efforts, public awareness campaigns, and support services may be making measurable progress.

After a decade of worrying trends, communities across Australia are finally seeing their efforts pay off.