If her violent ex had been monitored, Nelomie might still be alive

“Despite all of this, her worst fears were realised. All her safety watch did was record the horrible sounds of her murder.

“Maybe it’s too big of a step for a person not being charged with anything [to be made to wear a tracking device], but maybe they should, in some cases. It might add another layer of protection for people.”

In Western Australia, family violence offenders will soon be forced to wear ankle monitors as the government there moves to tighten coercive control laws.

It follows a spate of murders in the state last year that prompted the government to mandate the usage of GPS trackers when a person is declared a serial family violence offender or the subject of a restraining order and commits further offences.

In May, the NSW government’s plans for major new bail reform included the rollout of electronic monitoring bracelets for men accused of serious domestic violence offences.

While no timeline has been put on the plan, Premier Chris Minns said the law changes would require men to wear an ankle bracelet when released on bail after being accused of a serious domestic violence offence.

Dinush Kurera – 37 years with a non-parole of 30 years
Sven Lindermann – 31 years with a non-parole period of 25 years
Adrian Basham – life with a non-parole period of 30 years
Osman Shaptafaj – life with a non-parole period of 35 years
Thomas Bednar – 29 years with a non-parole period of 23 years
Joon Seong Tan – 28 years with a non-parole period of 23 years
James Fairhall – 25 years with a non-parole period of 18.5 years
Zoran Pandilovski – 24 years with a non-parole period of 17 years
Rebecca Payne – 16 years with a non-parole period of 10 years
Adam Brown – 24 years with a non-parole period of 17 years

Curtin University Professor Donna Chung said the change would help better protect at-risk people as long as it’s implemented correctly.

“Evidence internationally shows that overall, those with a violence restraining order who were also subject to electronic monitoring were more likely to stay out of the geographical areas they were not allowed, than those without electronic monitoring,” Chung said.

“But as with all electronic monitoring, there is a group of highly dangerous offenders who will not comply.

“For electronic monitoring to be effective, it’s vital to have ongoing communication with the victims/survivors to monitor risk and ensure safety, as a disconnect between offender monitoring and survivor support can compromise safety.”

Currently, Victoria does not have a state-run electronic monitoring scheme for people facing criminal charges and on bail.

However, this masthead in April revealed that Corrections Victoria oversees a program monitoring some adult offenders released on parole, community correction orders or post-sentence supervision orders through GPS-tracking devices.

But the scheme is viewed with suspicion by some magistrates and judges who see the devices as technologically unreliable and an impost on police.

“I would be reluctant to support such a condition where the supplier of the device was a private company that regarded an accused person as their client,” then Supreme Court judge Lex Lasry said during a bail application in 2020.

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