Thursday, 30 May 2024

Ministers statements: gendered violence

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:26): The Allan Labor government is committed to ensuring that Victoria Police and our justice system have the tools they need to hold perpetrators of gendered violence to account. Victoria Police arrest a family violence offender every 18 minutes, and we know some 95,000 Victorians, predominantly women and girls, are affected by family violence every year. Through our record $4.5 billion investment in Victoria Police we have established some 29 family violence units across the state, supporting 415 specialist family violence investigators, backed by the first ever family violence command. We have established our $11.5 million family violence centre of learning at the police academy to train recruits.

Today I am pleased to advise that our government will provide enduring protection for victim-survivors by strengthening family violence intervention orders. This includes introducing a presumption of a new standard minimum length for FVIOs. Currently most orders are between six and 12 months. Victims can then be required to retestify, a process that we know can be deeply retraumatising. Our reforms will put the accountability on perpetrators for their behaviour instead of requiring victims to prove they are not safe again and again. We will also explore giving police the power to directly issue FVIOs or longer family violence safety notices to better protect victims and give them certainty and legal protections on the spot. We also know some perpetrators deliberately avoid service of these orders, and we will be making changes to the service process to ensure through post or email delivery that the safety of victims is in place much sooner. We also will examine improvements to personal safety intervention orders to create stronger protections for victims of stalking, in line with the recommendations of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. I will continue working closely with the Attorney-General in the other place as these reforms are finalised and legislation is drafted. Community safety remains the Allan Labor government’s number one priority, and this new women’s safety package will continue to see that we lead the nation in the prevention of family violence.