The New South Wales government is being urged to lead national legislative reform by imposing mandatory life sentences for people convicted of domestic violence murders.
The independent member for Orange, Phil Donato has tabled a motion in state parliament outlining his plan to introduce the Crimes Amendment (Mandatory Life Sentences) Bill 2026.
It would mandate life sentences for people who kill their current or former partner while an apprehended domestic violence order is in place or if the perpetrator is on bail for domestic violence charges.
"We need to come down hard on this," Mr Donato said.
"If we're fair dinkum about wanting to send a clear message that if you kill your partner in a domestic violence situation, the community is not going to tolerate this … and in those circumstances, you will spend the rest of your life in jail."
The reform would also apply if the victim of the crime is a child under the age of 18.
Mr Donato is preparing the legislative reform after the killer of Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst was sentenced to 35 years in jail, which was reduced to 28 years because of a guilty plea.
Her former partner, Daniel Billings, was given a non-parole period of 20 years, which means he may be released in 18 years because of time already served in custody since Ms Ticehurst's murder in April 2024.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions released a statement after Billings's sentence saying it would "consider the sentence imposed in accordance with Prosecution Guidelines".
The NSW government passed legislative reforms after the childcare worker's murder, which make it harder for alleged offenders to get bail.
It also introduced a 25-year standard non-parole period for the murder of a current or former partner.
But a final sentence is at the discretion of the presiding judge, and they can apply discounts for the likes of early guilty pleas.
"We've seen over the course of the weekend, sadly, four people lose their lives … and we need to do everything we possibly can as lawmakers of this state to try and stamp out domestic violence where we can."
"We always talk about it, we have White Ribbon Day, we do community awareness around domestic violence, we encourage people to report domestic violence; unless the courts impose sufficient penalties that deter and denounce this atrocious conduct, it's going to continue."
In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said the maximum penalty for murder was life imprisonment and a 25-year standard non-parole period for intimate partner homicides was in place.
"This is in addition to numerous reforms including strengthening stalking and bail laws for alleged domestic violence offenders and ensuring those who are bailed are electronically monitored," the spokesperson said.
Judicial concerns
Mr Donato said he expected to see pushback from the judiciary because the legislative reform, if passed, would "erode" the courts' discretion on sentencing decisions.
David Heilpern, dean of law at Southern Cross University, was a local magistrate for 22 years.
He said while he was "deeply concerned" about the rate of domestic violence, he did not support Mr Donato's proposed bill.
"It's cheap politics, that's all it is," Mr Heilpern said.
Mr Heilpern said he was worried it would divert attention from providing more crisis accommodation for victim-survivors, anger management and diversion programs for perpetrators, and delivering consent and violence education in schools and universities.
"You can't sentence your way out of domestic violence alone," he said.
"The real emphasis [should be] on the other kinds of social supports and education programs that have been proven to work.
"It's always politically convenient to call for tougher sentences because it appeals to people's immediate sense of what can be done."
Mr Donato said he hoped to introduce debate over the draft legislation by the end of the year.
