Despite hundreds of recorded instances, the new domestic violence offence of coercive control has only resulted in a handful of charges since it was first criminalised.

NSW was the first Australian jurisdiction to make coercive control an offence when landmark legislation passed state parliament in 2022.

The laws apply when a person uses abusive behaviours to a current or former intimate partner with the intent of controlling or coercing them.

NSW Police have recorded 297 incidents of coercive control but laid charges on nine occasions, according to a report released on Friday by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

The median time between a police report and a coercive control charge was about four months.

This was driven partially by the "incredibly high" legal threshold

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