Page 690 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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Nothing speaks stronger of the bipartisan commitment to addressing domestic and family violence in the ACT than this now 17-year commitment to the family violence intervention program. The FVIP includes members from ACT Policing, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, the Office of the DPP, Corrective Services, the Victims of Crime Coordinator, ACT Legal Aid, ACT Health, the Community Services Directorate and the Justice and Community Safety Directorate. In 2012 the Australian Institute of Criminology reported on the FVIP, noting there was evidence that it is effective in establishing relationships between agencies and ensuring they work cooperatively together on family violence. The FVIP’s memorandum of agreement was remade only last year in response to a recommendation from the Institute of Criminology.
Another key part of the FVIP is the ACT courts and tribunal administration, given their important role in the issuing of domestic violence orders. These orders are an important civil avenue for women’s safety, and in 2013 the courts issued over 1,000 interim or final domestic violence orders. In many cases applicants were supported by legal and community services.
In addition, it is worth highlighting work that is now underway to progress a number of reforms in the area of domestic and family violence and sexual assault laws. These reforms will consider recommendations made by a range of stakeholders, including ACT Policing and the Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as the recommendations made in a joint Law Reform Commission report on family violence.
In November 2010 the New South Wales and the Australian law reform commissions jointly published a report entitled Family Violence—A National Legal Response, which contained 186 recommendations. Of these, 131 are relevant specifically to state or territory jurisdictions. The recommendations also included a review of the laws regarding sexual assault offences and victims. The ALRC review included recommendations that aim to improve understanding of domestic and family violence and sexual assault, strengthen the operation of domestic violence orders, link state and territory laws with the Family Law Act and consider how women and children can be better protected by the law, courts and police when faced with domestic and family violence or sexual assault.
The ACT conducted five extensive consultations of the 131 state and territory recommendations. Five roundtable discussions were held and gave a broad range of stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the recommendations. To date, the response by stakeholders to the report, through the roundtables, has been positive and encouraging. The government is now considering ways in which the proposed reforms can be implemented to further ensure that perpetrators stop their violence and are held to account. I am committed to progressing this work, in close consultation with stakeholders, to make sure the reforms fit in the ACT context, and I expect the government will be in a position to make further announcements later this year about a package of reforms to be progressed in the first part of 2016.
I also note that reviews in other jurisdictions have occurred since the publication of the ALRC’s report and these may also inform future responses in this place. In
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