The extent of domestic violence in Australia is difficult to determine, apparently because most victims suffer in silence. From March 1974 to June 1976, some 25 refuges for battered women run by women's groups had provided shelter to over 5,000 women and about 7,000 children. Indications are that the problem is significant. The police role in dealing with domestic assaults has generally been one of minimal intervention. The training police receive for dealing with domestic disputes is disproportionate to the extent of domestic violence. Police should be trained in crisis intervention and play a primary role in the reporting of domestic violence. Courses of action available for domestic violence victims in New South Wales include police and the victim's private criminal action for assault which can produce fines and imprisonment, injunctions restraining the offender from assaulting his wife or children or excluding the husband from the home, counseling for both offender and victim through the family court, and refuges provided by private women's groups for victims who decide to leave home. There is no systematic approach to the handling of domestic violence that appears to be effective in both protecting the victims and providing help to the couple that offers a realistic chance for repairing the relationship. There is an urgent need for research to involve police, the courts, counseling services, attorneys general, the legal profession, the medical profession, as well as concerned private citizens in efforts to analyze the problem and develop more effective strategies for dealing with it. A bibliography has 16 listings.