New data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found that since coercive control legislation was introduced in July, 56 incidents have been recorded by police.

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But just two of those incidents had court action commenced by August 31, which bureau director Jackie Fitzgerald said could boil down to the nature of the offences.

“The fact that the number of charges that have been made so far is quite low is to be expected, and a function also of that being a new offence,” she said.

Coercive control must involve a series of offences, including harassment, stalking and financial abuse.

“It’s quite different to many other offence types… I think I wouldn’t be surprised if police are waiting for something of a test case to go forward and really set a benchmark for what courts require,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

The new laws ban patterns of abuse used to hurt, scare, intimidate, threaten or control someone, including controlling movements, withholding money or limiting access to friends, family and other associates.

Coercive control has been identified as a precursor to 97 percent of intimate partner domestic violence homicides in NSW between 2000 and 2018.

While only four per cent of coercive control incidents are being prosecuted, more than 60 percent of regular domestic violence offences end up before the courts.

But it is early days and the justice system is likely adjusting to the new laws, Monash University’s Kate Fitz-Gibbon said.

“It will take some time to understand in better detail how the offence is being utilised by police and what challenges emerge during the court process,” she said.

“Ongoing monitoring of the offence is absolutely critical to ensure that the objectives of the new law are achieved in practice.”

Professor Fitz-Gibbon said the key test of the new laws would be if safety was improved for victim-survivors.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said prosecuting the cases would require meticulous police work.

“We envisage these cases will take longer, will take more time and require more care,” she said.

“It is probably a job detectives will need to be involved in very early on, wherever there may be a corroboration for the pattern or controlling behaviour.”

Queensland passed legislation in March to criminalise coercive control, which is set to take effect from 2025.

The WA and SA governments are also considering new legislation while the behaviour is an offence under family violence acts in the ACT, Victoria and the Northern Territory.

By Neve BRISSENDEN, AAP