Tougher laws for strangulation offences

People who attempt to strangle their partners will get a maximum of 10 years in jail under tough new laws proposed by the NSW government.

Most domestic violence strangulation cases are currently treated as common assault and attract a maximum jail term of two years, NSW Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said.

The new law, introduced to parliament on Wednesday, imposes far tougher sanctions and should make it easier to prosecute domestic violence strangulation cases.

"The new offence of strangulation does away with the need to prove the offender choked the victim while intending to commit another offence, such as sexual assault, murder or robbery. This will make prosecution much easier," Mr Hazzard said.

"The new offence attracts a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and clearly sends the message that this is a very serious offence which deserves significant punishment."

The Director of Public Prosecutions has previously expressed concerns about existing strangulation laws.

An aggravated version of the offence, committed during crimes such as rape of murder, will remain with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.