Victorian Government to Address Family Violence with Information Sharing Scheme

Tuesday 25 July 2017 @ 10.02 a.m. | Crime | Legal Research

The Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2017 (Vic)(‘the Act’) was assented this year (2017) in June, and is part of a state-wide effort to address the issue of domestic violence through the implementation of an information sharing scheme. The Act aims to address the culture of reluctance in reporting and sharing information about perpetrators, with special regard to the issue of balancing the perpetrator’s right to privacy and the victim’s right to safety.  In a media release, Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings noted:

‘Through our new Central Information Point, we’ll make sure the privacy of perpetrators never trumps the safety of victims.’

The development comes after the Victorian Government passed the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme Act 2016 (Vic) but expressed concerns about the mechanics of information sharing across jurisdictions.

Background

The Bill came about as a result of  recommendations from Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence in March 2015. One of the recommendations of the report was that the Victorian Government, through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Law, Crime and Community Safety Council, expand resources for legal services, especially through creating a single information sharing scheme for family violence, child protection and family law orders, accessible across every state and territory.

Late last year in October, the Victorian Attorney-General Martin Pakula stated that the Government was concerned about the mechanics of information sharing between states. His concern at that time was noted to be:

“If police are called to an incident and a person says that they have a domestic violence order from another jurisdiction, police will not be able to confirm this order, or its status or conditions, simply by checking the national police reference system (NPRS). In most cases, we expect police will have to contact the interstate court that made the domestic violence order (DVO) to get a copy of the order. This may not be possible for some days, as most other states and territories do not operate a court registry that is open after hours or at the weekend. This is not an acceptable basis for a national scheme.”

Key Amendments

This Act purports to mainly amend the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 in order to implement the recommendation of establishing an information sharing scheme and framework to enable specified agencies to share family violence information in a timely and effective manner in order to achieve consistency across Australia in family violence risk assessment and risk management. 

Furthermore, information about perpetrators may be shared without their consent. However the amendment requires the consent of a primary person (who is a person that an information sharing entity reasonably believes may be subjected to family violence), who is an adult in order to collect, share or disclose confidential information. This also applies to linked persons. In order to guard against misuse, the Act creates two offences for unauthorised use and disclosure of confidential information , and intentional or reckless unauthorised use and disclosure of confidential information.

The Act also provides for the operation and management of the new Central Information Point (CIP).

The Act includes other related amendments to the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).

Stakeholder Responses

Leane Sinclair, Associate Director of the Family Violence Response unit of Victoria Legal Aid stated:

"Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence together with the coronial inquest into the death of Luke Batty recognised what many practitioners working in the family violence field already knew: that the safety of victims, including children, was often undermined by inadequate information technology and confusing policies for sharing information between agencies about perpetrator risk."

She notes that the issues seeking to be rectified are that some organisations across Australia operate in an isolated and non-integrated manner.

Regarding the lack of provision for children’s consent to information sharing, key stakeholders Domestic Violence Victoria argued that consideration should be given to allowing for application of professional judgement to each child’s ability and capacity to consent to confidential information being shared.

Similar Legislation

Similar legislation has been enacted in 2016 in NSW under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment (National Domestic Violence Orders Recognition) Act 2016 (NSW). Under this Act, domestic violence offenders cannot escape the law if they travel interstate. 

Another example of similar legislation is the Domestic Violence Orders (National Recognition) Act 2016 (Tas), which mainly stipulates that any domestic violence order made in Australia, or made in New Zealand and registered anywhere in Australia is nationally recognisable and enforceable. However this new Victorian Act is unique in its to attempt to create an efficient and rapid information sharing scheme to prevent re-offending.

TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products. Nothing on this website should be construed as legal advice and does not substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel.

Sources:

Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2017 (Vic), second reading speeches and explanatory memorandum, published on TimeBase LawOne.

Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment (National Domestic Violence Orders Recognition) Act 2016 (NSW), published on TimeBase LawOne.

Domestic Violence Orders (National Recognition) Act 2016 (Tas), published on TimeBase LawOne.

Premier of Victoria and Special Minister of State, 'Family violence hubs and better information sharing to keep women safe' (media release), 2 May 2017.

Leanne Sinclair, ‘Privacy, information sharing and a collaborative approach,’ (LinkedIn), 7 March 2017.

Domestic Violence Victoria, 'Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Consultation Draft Bill 2017' (Submission to Department of Premier and Cabinet), 17 February 2017.

Royal Commission into Family Violence, delivered on 29 March 2017.

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