Queensland government moves to legislate coercive control as a form of domestic violence

Lloyd and Sue Clarke, who lost their daughter Hannah after she and her children were killed by her estranged husband, say they support the bill. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

The Queensland government will seek to broaden the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control, as it moves towards making it a criminal offence in its own right.

The bill, introduced into parliament on Friday, would amend legislation to include a “pattern of behaviour” and update the definition of stalking to reflect modern technology.