Navigating Victoria's new "non-fatal strangulation" laws

The 2011 murder of Rye mother Joy Rowley by her former partner sparked a full coronial inquest into the police response to domestic violence.¹ State coroner Judge Hinchey found that Ms Rowley had been the victim of a number of instances of non-fatal strangulation by her former partner which had been reported to Victoria Police in the lead up to her murder. Judge Hinchey recommended a number of changes to Victoria Police procedure, and noted that the introduction of a stand-alone offence of strangulation, suffocation, or choking in Victoria could significantly help to ensure that this conduct is denounced commensurately to the risk that it poses to victims of the conduct.

In late 2023, the Victorian Government passed the Crimes Amendment (Non-fatal Strangulation) Bill 2023 ("the Bill") to create two new criminal offences which specifically target the act of non-fatal strangulation in circumstances where the accused person is a family member of the alleged victim. It