2022-02-10
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury will introduce the Family Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 to the ACT Legislative Assembly today. Key priorities of the bill include reducing trauma for family violence victims involved in court proceedings and strengthening sentencing options for perpetrators of family violence.
“Domestic and family violence claims the lives of more than 100 people in Australia every year. It sets off a damaging ripple that hurts not only individuals, but our society as a whole,” Attorney-General Rattenbury said.
“Victim survivors have shared their lived experiences, and too often, the criminal justice process is a re-traumatisation that victim survivors endure. We must ensure family violence legislation provides the greatest protection possible for victims and appropriate consequences for offenders.
“Key priorities are reducing barriers for victim survivors to access justice, and introducing more effective mechanisms to ensure family violence offenders are held to account continues.
“I believe these reforms will improve victim survivors’ experience with the justice system.”
The Bill will:
- create an aggravated offence scheme that allows expanded penalties for certain offences when committed in the context of family violence;
- limit cross-examination on the contents of Victim Impact Statements, including in other proceedings;
- insert certain new aggravated family violence offences into the schedule of disqualifying offences Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011;
- create a legislative requirement to review the Family Violence Act 2016 every three years.
In 2019, the ACT Government initiated a review of the Family Violence Act 2016 to find ways to better protect victims. Today’s reforms are phase two of the Government’s legislative response to the review, after new laws were introduced in June 2021.
“In addition to these changes, we will continue to look at other ways that domestic and family violence can be reduced in the ACT,” Attorney-General Rattenbury said.
In response to Grace Tame’s continued advocacy, the Bill will also change the name of the offence of ‘sexual relationship with child or young person under special care’ to ‘persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under special care’.
Ms Tame called for this reform during the Meeting of Attorneys-General on 12 November 2021, which prompted the ACT Government to make this amendment.
“I was struck by Ms Tame’s powerful advocacy last November," Attorney-General Rattenbury said. "When presented with victim-survivors’ stories such as these, we have a responsibility to act, which is why we have brought forward this reform at the first opportunity.”