A suite of domestic violence reforms passed in the Queensland parliament will strengthen protection for victims.
The changes will expand the definition of domestic and family abuse to include a "pattern of behaviour" and will strengthen the offence of stalking.
The amendments also strengthen the court's ability to consider previous domestic violence or criminal history and to award costs to avoid further abuse to victims.
Sue and Lloyd Clarke, the parents and grandparents of Hannah Clarke and her three children who were murdered by Hannah's estranged partner in 2020, spoke outside parliament today.
"No one wants these laws more than our family," Mr Clarke said.
"We need to take these small steps to get them right and to make these laws stick.
"Coercive control is such a complex matter, and that's why it needs to take time, to get this right."
The Clarkes said it was their goal for similar legislation to be enacted Australia-wide in the future.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with waiting and watching and learning, to see if there are any mistakes, but I like to think Queensland will get it right, " Ms Clarke said.
Queensland's Attorney-General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman said the laws had been adapted to identify patterns of abuse that happen over time.
"The bill that passed parliament late yesterday does a number of things, including amending the definition of domestic and family violence to better protect women experiencing coercive control," she said.
"It's about identifying those red flags earlier, before more blue police tape surrounds another family home."
Ms Fentiman, who is also the Minister for Justice and Minister for Women, said the reforms would include "extensive" training for frontline services, like police and domestic and family violence support services, to better identify and respond to coercive control.
"At the moment, really, our system is set up to respond to one individual incident of physical violence. That is not how domestic and family violence is experienced by so many victims," she said.
A coronial inquest into the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children – six-year-old Aaliyah, four-year-old Laianah and three-year-old Trey – found that while police officers acted appropriately overall, there were missed opportunities for further action.
Sue Clarke agreed that police needed more training on coercive control.
"They (police) are doing the best they can, but coercive control is not easy to understand," she said.
"I think the more training there is, the more obvious these signs will be to the police.
"They have a lot on their plates and we need to have the laws there so they can do something about it when they see it happening."
The deputy state coroner made four recommendations at the conclusion of the Hannah Clarke inquest in June last year, requiring "immediate attention" to prevent similar deaths.
They included a five-day face-to-face training program for specialist DV police "as a matter of urgency", a mandatory DV module for all officers as part of their annual skills training, and funding for men's behavioural change programs.
Coercive control could be criminalised in Queensland by 2024
Queensland committed to criminalising coercive behaviour after the Clarke family's campaign to strengthen the laws following Hannah's death.
State and territory attorneys-general met with federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in August to debate whether to criminalise coercive control nationally, and Ms Fentiman said consistency between states on criminal law was preferable.
"I've met with many of my counterparts who are extremely interested in what Queensland is doing," she said.
"Because this is a relatively new concept as part of our laws, we all want to work together to make sure we do have those consistent approaches across jurisdictions.
"There are other parts in this bill that really do bring Queensland into line with other jurisdictions, particularly around the naming of offences, so where we can, we try to be consistent."
Ms Fentiman said the Queensland government was "taking the time to get it right".
"We do have the benefit of looking overseas at a handful of other jurisdictions, but we know we have to get our systems and training done before this becomes a crime because we don't want to see unintended consequences," she said.
"The laws that passed yesterday are a fantastic first step in making sure we can better protect Queenslanders."
Lloyd Clarke said he hoped the laws could be passed "in time for Hannah's heavenly birthday in September".
The laws also modernise the offences of "maintaining a sexual relationship with a child" and "carnal knowledge," which will now be known as "repeated sexual conduct with a child" and "penile intercourse" in the criminal code.
The legislation was introduced to parliament last year in the wake of the Hear Her Voice report.
