2021-06-24
ACT courts will be required to give specific consideration when sentencing a person convicted of a crime in a family violence context under proposed new legislation being tabled today in the ACT Legislative Assembly, the first phase of proposed family violence law reform.
“The ACT Government condemns family violence in all of its forms and is making reforms to address this serious issue in our community,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said.
“The community rightly expects courts to hold perpetrators of family violence to account in sentencing. I want to ensure courts have the appropriate tools to sentence offenders, prevent family violence, and ultimately protect the community.”
Under the amendments, the court is required to consider certain factors when sentencing for a family violence offence, including:
- whether the offending occurred at the home of the victim, the offender or another person;
- whether the offending occurred when a child was present;
- if the offence was a serious family violence offence - whether the offender has any previous convictions for serious family violence offences.
“These reforms will respond to the issue raised by the Court of Appeal in R v UG [2020] ACTCA 8, which found that, ‘absent any statutory provision… there is no place for a separate sentencing regime that applies to offenders who commit family violence offences’,” Attorney-General Rattenbury said.
“The ACT Government is continuing to work through further family violence reforms, the second phase of the proposed reforms. This will include the possible addition of aggravated offences, recognising the strong support of community stakeholders.
“I want to ensure we arrive at the most effective and a well-supported approach to sentencing for family violence offences. There is no single best approach to achieving the shared aim of preventing family violence, which is why we need to work with the community and develop the regime.
“We are taking a phased approach to fully address the complexities in this area. We want to ensure family violence legislation provides the greatest protection possible for victims and appropriate consequences for offenders, recognising the need for a nuanced response given the nature of family violence itself, and family violence offences.”
The Bill also contains amendments to support the use of body-worn cameras by ACT Policing, which will improve safety and accountability for the public and police, especially in private settings such as family violence incidents.