Domestic violence victims in NSW will be able to give their evidence via video in court under a new law designed to make the experience less traumatic for them.
The new law will come into effect from Monday, making NSW the first Australian jurisdiction to allow video evidence for such cases.
Minister for Justice and Police Troy Grant said the changes, coupled with improvements to police investigation procedures, meant video evidence could be used for the first time as evidence in chief against a person charged with domestic violence offences.
"In NSW courts, video statements can replace written statements. This means victims will need to spend significantly less time reliving the trauma of their assault in court, in front of their assailants," Mr Grant said in a statement on Sunday.
"Police when called to a domestic violence scene will film the victim's video statement professionally and sensitively, as soon as possible."
Mr Grant said that would create visual evidence for the courts that would reduce the risk of victims being pressured by assailants into changing their stories.
The Criminal Procedure Amendment (Domestic Violence Complainants) Act requires the victim to consent to making a video statement.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the introduction of Domestic Violence Evidence in Chief (DVEC) will be a game-changer for the reporting of domestic and family violence.
"Never before has a victim of domestic abuse been able to articulate in court the detail and the raw emotion of an incident as clearly as when it happened. That is, until now."
Mr Scipione said it would potentially ensure that victims and police spend less time in court and save victims and their families "having to relive the violence".
Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said the reforms would reduce the stress of the court process and potentially increase the number of early guilty pleas to domestic violence offences.
