Victorian Govt Introduces Bill to Implement 6 Royal Commission into Family Violence Recommendations

• expanding the therapeutic treatment order regime; and
• enacting new statutory examples of behaviour that may constitute family violence; and
• facilitating the use of an online application for family violence intervention orders; and
• empowering courts to make own motion interim family violence intervention orders during criminal proceedings; and
• establishing the Specialist Family Violence Court Division in the Magistrates' Court; and
• allowing for the use of pre-recorded evidence-in-chief in proceedings for family violence offences.

“Family violence is pervasive in nature and its impact is profound. The trauma from, and devastating effects of, family violence on the health and wellbeing of victim survivors often remain long after the violence itself ends. This is why the Victorian Government has committed to implementing all 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence (the Royal Commission).

Two years on from the release of the report of the Royal Commission, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence Protection and Other Matters) Bill 2018 (the Bill) responds to six of the Royal Commission's recommendations.

This Bill is the second stage of justice-related legislative reform, the first stage being the Family Violence Protection Amendment Act 2017. The amendments in the Bill further strengthen Victoria's efforts to respond to family violence, improving the protection of victim survivors and the accountability of perpetrators for their behaviour.”

“The main purposes of this Act are—

1. to amend the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) to improve provisions for therapeutic treatment orders; and
2. to amend the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic)—
1. to provide further examples of behaviour that may constitute family violence; and
2. in relation to counselling orders, to remove the requirement that a respondent live in a specified postcode area to be eligible for a counselling order and to allow the Children's Court to make counselling orders; and
3. to provide further for the making of interim orders; and
4. to provide for the making of applications for family violence intervention orders by a declaration of truth; and
3. to amend the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (Vic) to establish a Specialist Family Violence Court Division; and
4. to amend various Acts in relation to the use of electronic communication for court and tribunal processes and documents; and
5. to amend the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) and the Personal Safety Intervention Orders Act 2010 (Vic) in relation to variations and revocations of, and appeals in relation to, interim orders; and
6. to amend the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) to allow recorded statements to be used as evidence-in-chief in family violence offence proceedings.”

“The Bill establishes the Specialist Family Violence Court Division in the Magistrates' Court, extends access for young people to therapeutic treatment programs, enables applications for family violence intervention orders to be filed online, and includes dowry-related abuse and forced marriage as statutory examples of family violence in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic).

The Bill also improves the criminal justice system's response to family violence, by enabling a trial of a scheme that allows a recorded statement to be used as a victim's evidence-in-chief in proceedings for family violence offences, and empowering the Courts to make interim family violence intervention orders without a formal application if they believe that material in a criminal proceeding shows a victim survivor needs protection.

The Bill also makes other amendments that complement the Royal Commission's recommendations, including facilitating the electronic issue and transmission of court and tribunal documents, abolishing appeals against interim intervention orders, enhancing the counselling order provisions in the Family Violence Protection Act, and promoting the practical operation of the power of the court to make family violence intervention orders, on its own initiative, to protect children.”