As substantiated by amendments to Crimes Act 1900, Bail Act 1989 and the Firearm Act 1989 the effectiveness of Law reform in NSW is established in the scope of domestic violence. This reflects the changing social standards and sense of public morality as to the role and protection of women and children in society.
The Crimes act 1900 established the statute that codifies the common law crimes for the state of New South Wales. It is an extensive legal document of 582 different sections, which define an extensive list of offences under NSW law. However there is a complete omission of domestic violence or any form of spousal abuse. This reflects the patriarchal structure of society in 1900 and the tabo nature of domestic violence as being community-accepted reality, which was omissible in a private environment.
Due to a contemporary change in public morality and the role of the media in putting Domestic Violence on the political agenda, the Crimes (Domestic Violence) Amendments act (1982) was acquiesced. The amendment defined domestic violence as - An offence committed upon a person upon whom the offence is committed arc married to each other or, although not married to each other, are living together as husband and wife on a bona fide domestic basis. Furthermore it addressed the position of people experiencing violence in a domestic environment and enabled them to persecute their respective spouse on the grounds of Domestic abuse. The Crimes (Domestic Violence) Amendments act was progressive in three features, firstly it defined the paradigms of what constituted domestic violence, secondly it allowed couples in some circumstances to obtain Apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVO’s now AVO’s), thirdly established Domestic Violence as an unyielding issue within Australia culture. It did not however address the full scope of the issue due to the inadequately slow response time in situations,