Woman clings to life after beating

Screaming and banging filled a Sydney housing complex before Linda Locke was found bruised, battered and clinging to life.

The 51-year-old had head injuries, a seriously bruised face and a collapsed lung by the time paramedics arrived at her Quakers Hill home at 6am on Monday.

A day later she was still on life support in Westmead Hospital while the man allegedly behind her injuries - her long-term partner - was behind bars.

Jamie Christopher Walker was arrested and charged with assault occasioning grievous harm after hospital staff raised the alarm with police on Monday.

The unemployed 46-year-old appeared in Blacktown Local Court on Tuesday, speaking only briefly to tell the magistrate about his methadone program.

Ms Locke's family from far north NSW were expected to travel to Sydney as her condition was still listed as critical on Tuesday.

The couple has lived in the Quakers Hill complex for about five years.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said he was woken up by screaming.

"I heard banging and screaming," he said.

"There were a few police cars and then forensic cars. I thought it must have been pretty bad."

Ms Locke is at risk of becoming another of the two Australian women killed every week by violence this year.

Counting Dead Women, a group tracking the number of women killed by violence, says 33 females have died this year in Australia.

Domestic violence murders claimed the lives of 27 women in NSW last year - five more than the previous year.

Walker did not apply for bail on Tuesday and his case was adjourned to June.