Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am proud to be part of a government that is providing leadership and investment to address family, domestic and sexual violence. This leadership is epitomised in this bill which will strengthen protections for vulnerable Australians taking part in Commonwealth criminal proceedings, proceedings that often require victims-survivors to relive their trauma. This bill, the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024, will take the burden off victims-survivors. It will ensure robust support for vulnerable individuals throughout the entire legal process by amending the Crimes Act and strengthening protections for vulnerable Australians in Commonwealth criminal proceedings to take the onus off the victims-survivors—victims-survivors who have suffered immense trauma, victims-survivors who would often rather stay silent than seek justice and victims-survivors from every corner of our nation.

We know that an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three worldwide—have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives. In Australia, as many as one in six women have been subject to physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. I know we are all deeply disturbed by the endless stories of women dying at the hands of their current or former partner, and we all acknowledge that one life lost is one life too many. Each death has devastating rippling effects across our communities. When a woman's life is taken from her, children lose mothers, parents lose children, brothers lose sisters and we lose our friends and our workmates. Family, domestic and sexual violence is not just a women's issue; it is an issue for everyone.

For all those brave women and all women across the nation I stand today to support this bill. Like our Attorney-General, I recognise and thank all victims-survivors who have advocated for this much-needed reform. These efforts build upon the extensive work undertaken by our government since taking office, leading national discussions on strengthening responses to sexual assault.

In the 2023-24 budget, our government announced $14.7 million to strengthen the way the criminal justice system responds to sexual assault, to prevent further harm to victims and survivors. This includes the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence, a lived experienced expert advisory group. Last August, our government convened the ministerial national roundtable. The Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry has now commenced. Pre-eminent Australian lawyers Marcia Neave AO and Judge Liesl Kudelka will conduct this inquiry, and their work is well underway.

This bill implements key recommendations from the 2017 final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, with a particular focus on pre-recording of evidence. It also expands the range of offences covered by existing protections for vulnerable people in Commonwealth criminal proceedings, including crimes against humanity, war crimes and drug offences. It ensures adult complainants are able to access vulnerable witness protections for offences that occurred while they were children, recognising that it may take many years for victims and survivors to disclose their abuse. These amendments reflect the broad range of offences impacting vulnerable people.

Moreover, the bill introduces a range of significant measures to address the admissibility of evidence concerning vulnerable people—evidence that is very traumatising and often adversarial. Evidence about a vulnerable person's reputation with respect to their sexual activities will be made inadmissible. Greater restrictions are placed on sexual experience evidence, making it inadmissible except in limited circumstances and where the court grants leave. This type of evidence is ordinarily too far removed from evidence of the alleged crime for its admission to be in the interests of justice and can retraumatise vulnerable persons by victim blaming. A court will now need to be satisfied that sexual experience evidence is substantially relevant to the proceedings, and to consider whether its value outweighs any distress, humiliation or embarrassment to the vulnerable person.

This bill also addresses barriers that may deter vulnerable witnesses from giving evidence. The new measures allow for a vulnerable person to give evidence by way of video or audio recordings and for evidence to be recorded for use at subsequent proceedings. Importantly, witnesses will not be required to see the defendant when giving recorded evidence, and it will be an offence to intentionally copy, damage, alter, possess or supply recordings of the evidence. This bill is so important, and I'm so proud to be associated with it. I would like to thank the Attorney-General for acting to ensure that our criminal justice response to sexual violence is more compassionate and more just and will go some way to empowering vulnerable people and, hopefully, result in more victims feeling able to seek justice.

For too long, we have allowed an imbalance of power in this adversarial setting. The Attorney-General's bill finally addresses this flaw. It's time that victim-survivors are not put in a position where they have to relive their trauma. It's time we enabled vulnerable people to give evidence in a safe and controlled setting. This bill supports the voices of victim-survivors by ensuring they are empowered to speak out if they choose to do so.

This bill also makes it clear that the current restriction on publishing material that identifies another person as a child witness, child complainant or vulnerable adult complainant in a proceeding does not apply to a person who publishes material that identifies themselves. This bill will also remove the requirement for the proceedings to be finalised before such a publication may occur and clarifies the law that there is no restriction on identifying a vulnerable person who is deceased. These amendments not only ensure victims and survivors are able and supported to speak out, should they wish to do so, but also present an opportunity for the public to gain a better understanding of sexual violence from the perspective of victims and survivors. Most importantly, these changes give victims and survivors back their voice.

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Most importantly, these changes give victims and survivors back their voice, as well as the agency and power to control their own stories and experiences. Limiting this provision to victims-survivors balances providing a legal mechanism to support them to speak out with preserving the ability of victims and survivors to maintain privacy. These reforms will progress the work of the government under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030, and the Standing Council of Attorneys-General's Work Plan to Strengthen Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault. Through strengthening protections and enhanced safeguards, this bill is an important step towards creating better outcomes for vulnerable persons in Commonwealth criminal proceedings.

I have been passionate about this issue for many years. I was proud to be Mayor of the Surf Coast Shire when, in 2010, our council voted to introduce paid family and domestic violence leave for its staff. The agreement was hailed as a world first and the most progressive workplace agreement on family violence at that time. I'm proud that our government has ensured this entitlement now applies to all employees across Australia, regardless of their type of employment.

The Albanese government, through this bill, is continuing to champion innovative and impactful measures to address issues as critical as sexual assault and domestic violence. As we move forward with these legislative reforms, we are not just legislating legal change; we are taking significant steps towards fostering a society that prioritises the wellbeing and dignity of its people, who deserve justice.

By empowering victims-survivors we not only offer support but also amplify their voices, ensuring they have control over their narratives and experiences. By integrating these measures into a broader framework of national strategies we're fostering a cohesive and united effort to strengthen our criminal justice responses to sexual assault. This not only seeks to prevent further harm to victims-survivors but also endeavours to transform the way we approach and respond to sexual assault within our society.

The commitment to sensitivity, protection and empowerment enshrined in this legislation reflects our collective dedication to building a safer and more just nation. As we roll out these reforms, it's my hope that they serve as a beacon for change across our states and territories, demonstrating the positive impact of legislative measures grounded in empathy and respect for the survivors of sexual assault. Together we can continue to build a global community where justice is compassionate, survivors are supported and the prevention of sexual assault is at the forefront of government efforts. In essence this bill represents a vital stride towards a more compassionate and effective legal system. I commend this bill to the House.

Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024. For survivors of sexual violence and abuse, participating in the criminal justice system is really challenging. To have suffered a traumatic event and then be expected to detail and relive the trauma again and again must be agonising. Coupled with the shame and stigma that so often accompanies these kinds of crimes, it's a situation that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

To recognise these difficulties, the Commonwealth Crimes Act currently includes special rules that offer protections to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and vulnerable persons in Commonwealth criminal proceedings. These include things like special provisions governing the admissibility of evidence, rules in relation to cross-examining vulnerable witnesses, provisions for the use of CCTV and screens for vulnerable persons to give evidence, and provisions for the prerecording of the testimony of a vulnerable witness's evidence.

It's good to see government responding to the recommendations of the royal commission report from 2017. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established in 2013 in response to allegations of sexual abuse of children in institutional contexts that had been emerging in Australia for many years. It was in response to consistent advocacy from victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and those who represent and support them. The final report was produced after more than 8,000 personal stories were heard in private sessions and more than a thousand survivors provided a written account of their experience. It was a comprehensive and important body of work.

I note that the fifth Annual Progress Report on implementation was published in 2022 and showed that all 206 Commonwealth related recommendations from the royal commission are now implemented or in progress. I thank all of those contributors to this important milestone for their work. I also acknowledge the ongoing work in this area through the first national action plan of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse and the Standing Council of Attorneys-General Work Plan to Strengthen Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault.

But what about the specifics of this bill? This new bill legislates four of the recommendations from the royal commission. It's most certainly in the interests of vulnerable adults and in the interests of an effective criminal justice system that people are given the opportunity to give what has been described as their 'best evidence' in court. I welcome each of these four changes.

First, it expands the range of offences and increases protections to adults who were children at the time of the offence. This is important, particularly as we know that repressed childhood trauma can resurface well into adulthood. Vulnerable adults who are grappling with memories of childhood crimes should also be afforded protection.

Second, it makes evidence about sexual reputation inadmissible for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. This is an absolute no-brainer. All stakeholders and commentators have supported this change, with the Law Council of Australia saying it would:

… provide significant protections for vulnerable complainants while retaining exceptions for properly relevant and probative evidence.

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All stakeholders and commentators have supported this change, with the Australian Law Council saying it would provide significant protections for vulnerable complainants while retaining exceptions for properly relevant and probative evidence. I think it's an essential change because it reduces the ability for the victim to be blamed for the crime by referring to their history or reputation. This change means the evidence is about the accused rather than the behaviour of the victim.

Third, it introduces the capacity to pre-recorded evidence. The Law Council was concerned about this provision because it believed that this could create delays to trial proceedings as well as increases in costs. The Law Council also noted that there's no provision in the bill to provide an accused with the right to full disclosure before the pre- recording of evidence commences. While I acknowledge that there are concerns, I think the benefits for victims outweigh the costs and logistics for the system. The court retains a discretion to order pre-recording of evidence hearings only when it's satisfied that it's in the interest of justice to do so. This seems to provide an opportunity to balance the interests of a vulnerable witness and the interests of an accused.

Finally, this bill allows a child witness, child complainant or vulnerable adult to publish self identifying information. In the past, the criminal justice system compounded the victim 's experience by putting a muzzle on them, adding to their trauma by requiring them to remain silent and to hide their identity. This important reform restores a rightful agency to be vulnerable complainant-witness to disclose who they are in the context of these proceedings and to talk about what they have experienced. The grim reality is that, in sexual abuse cases, many victims and vulnerable people remain too fearful to complain and subject themselves to the risk that the criminal justice system will fail to adequately support and protect them. I welcome any measures that address this fear.

I support this amendment and encourage the government to continue to progress and implement all recommendations in the 2017 royal commission report.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Way back in 2013, a long time ago, when tigers used to smoke, as my Korean community says, as the Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs I delivered a report, Troubled waters, on an inquiry into the arrangements surrounding crimes at sea. The scope of that inquiry included examining whether improvements could be made in relation to the reporting, investigation and prosecution of crimes committed at sea. The horrendous death of Queensland woman Diane Brimble on a cruise ship—

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The horrendous death of Queensland woman Dianne Brimble on a cruise ship back in 2002 has not been forgotten by many of us. As I reflect on this enduring tragedy, I am pleased to be able to stand in support of the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024—and I'll give a quick shout-out to Mark Brimble, who has done so much advocacy work when it comes to crimes at sea, both around Australia and internationally.

This bill amends the Crimes Act 1914 to strengthen protections for vulnerable persons involved in Commonwealth criminal proceedings, including crimes committed at sea in Australian waters. The Albanese Labor government has led a national discussion on strengthening criminal justice responses to sexual assault to prevent further harm to victims and survivors. In the last budget, we announced the investment of $14.7 million towards this goal. Moreover, $6.5 million over four years has been directed to the Attorney-General's portfolio as part of the Albanese government's commitment to work with the states and territories on the Work Plan to Strengthen Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault 2022-2027 and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032—important, methodical work that will improve our justice system.

We must do better by our victims and survivors. Labor is committed to preventing further harm to victims and survivors and minimising the retraumatisation that they experience as they move through the criminal justice system. The amendments in this bill are a key part of this work. These reforms were, in part, informed by extensive consultation with victims, survivors and their advocates. We all thank them for their bravery in sharing their stories and the contribution that they have made to strengthening the way the criminal justice system responds to sexual violence.

At the core of these reforms are trauma-informed measures that better support vulnerable victims and survivors throughout their journey as complainants or witnesses through our criminal justice system. Trauma-informed care means all levels of an organisation or a system understand trauma and how it impacts on individuals, families and communities. Trauma-informed care recognises the science of trauma and understands how best to respond and develop strategies and systems that decrease the potential for the retraumatisation of vulnerable people.

The effects of sexual assault can be devastating to victims and survivors and their families, and these ripples can extend for many, many decades after. In the immediate aftermath of an assault, people may feel shock, fear and numbness. If they make a report to police, victims and survivors are then asked to relive their assault and face challenging and intrusive questioning; that is obviously good for justice but horrific for the individual—and sometimes also, sadly, not good for justice. In some cases, it may feel as though they are under investigation; they can feel deep shame, and they can be retraumatised. In many cases, this continues as the individual moves through the criminal justice system, repeating their story time and time again and then being questioned about it. So, with these experiences in mind, it is not hard to see how the effects of sexual assault can be cumulative, long-lasting, complex and completely detrimental to the wellbeing of victims and survivors. It is crucial that the criminal justice system provides trauma-informed support for all involved and is victim-and-survivor-focused, every step along the way.

This crimes amendment bill implements several outstanding recommendations regarding the pre-recording of evidence from the 2017 final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. These recommendations focused on ensuring 'the complainant is given a good opportunity to give their "best evidence", meaning the most complete and accurate evidence the complainant is able to give'. This supports vulnerable people to give evidence via video or via audio recording, removing them from the confrontation of the court environment.

Under this bill, evidence, such as cross-examination, can be recorded for use in subsequent trials or retrials, removing the necessity for victims and survivors to provide evidence on numerous occasions, and stopping them from having to recount the assault, or assaults, over and over again, because replaying horror repeatedly and actually be doing the work of the perpetrator over again. Additionally, recorded evidence means complainants and witnesses are not confronted with having to face the defendant in court. Any recorded evidence will also be protected by measures to stop copying, alteration or distribution. Defendants are able to access the recorded evidence as per due process. A fair trial is an important part of the rule of law. Obviously some shock jocks and division-hungry politicians want to convict only on what is written in the Courier-Mail or the Daily Telegraph, but sensible Australians believe in justice. Providing a safe and controlled environment in which to provide evidence, and to only provide it once, is less confronting and traumatising for victims and survivors.

This bill supports victims and survivors by expanding the range of offences covered by the scope of existing protections for vulnerable people in Commonwealth criminal proceedings. The offences now include crimes against humanity, war crimes and drug offences involving children. The bill also includes measures regarding the admissibility of evidence about vulnerable people. It makes evidence about adult victims and survivors sexual reputations inadmissible and puts more restrictions on evidence relating to sexual experience. Rehashing such evidence can retraumatise vulnerable persons by victim blaming, leading to further trauma through being judged and humiliated. In most cases, information about sexual experience has no bearing on the evidence of the alleged crime.

Crucially, this bill ensures that victims and survivors can speak about their experiences should they wish to do so—I'll stress that: should they wish to do so—by either publishing self-identifying information or by providing consent to a third party such as a respectable media organisation to do that publication. Such publications would be able to be made before legal proceedings are finalised. These amendments give victims and survivors a measure of agency to take back control—the informed choice and opportunity to share their own story and experience if they are ready, willing and able to do so. Another benefit is the opportunity for the public to learn and understand more about victims and survivors, their stories and the impact of the experience on their lives. It is important to note that this provision preserves the ability for victims and survivors to maintain their privacy if that is their preference.

The bill also ensures that adult complainants are able to access vulnerable-witness protections for offences that occurred while they were children. This recognises that, for some victims and survivors, it may take a considerable number of years to disclose abuse or to reach a stage when they have a capacity to engage with the criminal justice system, for many different reasons. I remember my wife, who has worked in this area, interviewing witnesses before they appeared before the royal commission into institutional child abuse, and talking to an 80-year-old woman about something that happened when she was six. She could see the child in front of her even though it was an 80-year-old woman. Sometimes people take a long time to come forward to seek justice. This reflects the complex and cumulative nature of the effects of sexual assault and that there is not one size that fits all or one rule of thumb for how victims should or must behave. The only commonsense rule is that individuals choose their own way to survive and to respond.

The range of amendments in this bill sadly reflects the numerous potential consequences for victims and survivors and the potential for ongoing vulnerability in different aspects of their lives. While focusing on limiting retraumatisation of victims and survivors, the reforms ensure that due process protections are maintained and that defendants continue to be tried fairly and impartially—that's always important. Improving the experience of victims and survivors of sexual violence in our justice system is an ongoing area of advocacy. I want to express my appreciation to all the victims-survivors, their allies and their lawyers who have worked in this space and continue to do so. The Albanese government has asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to inquire further into justice responses to sexual violence in Australia. This process is now underway. The inquiry is supported by a lived experience expert advisory group. We deeply respect and honour their voices. They will help ensure the laws that emerge from this building have exactly the right settings.

Labor is committed to strengthening and harmonising sexual assault and consent laws, and to improving outcomes and experiences for victims and survivors in our justice system. Providing trauma informed support and a secure victim- and survivor-centred experience at all stages of the criminal justice process helps ensure vulnerable persons are treated with sensitivity. It will also decrease the risk of retraumatisation and will have a positive impact on victims and survivors in their journeys to healing. This bill has my full support.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the government proposed Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024. A 2020 investigation by the ABC collected data on sexual assault in each state, territory and postcode—with the exception of the Northern Territory, who refused to provide data to the ABC. This data showed a dire situation. More than 140,000 sexual assaults were reported to Australian police in the 10 years to 2017, but just under 42,600—some 30 per cent of sexual assault reports—led to an arrest, summons, formal caution or other legal action. The other 50,800 investigations—more than 35 per cent of reported sexual assaults—remained unsolved. In New South Wales, only one in 10 reports since 2009 has led to legal action—and that's without addressing how many do not report because they are so disillusioned with the system.

It's clear that, at all levels of government, we are not doing enough on sexual assault and holding those responsible to account. It's just not good enough. Many in this place were on the lawns of parliament during the March4Justice and Enough movement in 2021. It's clear many people around Australia want to see this change. This bill is a good first step. It aims to address, in part, improving the experiences of victims of sexual assault within the criminal justice system. Many survivors of sexual assault have described the judicial process as more traumatising than the initial violence. To change our legal and justice response to sexual assault, and, in doing so, inspire prevention, we must create confidence, consistency, accountability and transparency in the police and justice responses to reports of sexual assault.

We need a victim centred approach within our judicial system that promotes the safety of victims and rejects victim blaming culture. I can't raise that point without referring to and considering the experience we had with a previous staffer in this place. We can't talk about sexual assault and the process of that going through the courts without reflecting on the very high-profile Lehrmann prosecution and the vilification of the victim in that case, Brittany Higgins, by multimedia outlets and by members of this place. We still have not had an adequate answer as to how it was possible that materials produced under compulsion of court proceedings, under notices to produce or subpoenas, found their way onto the front pages in the media. There are questions in relation to review, the news exemptions under the Privacy Act and whether our contempt-of-court laws are adequate to hold to account media outlets when they have such a breach of trust. There are serious questions that remain unanswered in relation to those proceedings, and they are questions I am pursuing with the Attorney-General. We must have a situation where complainants, victims, can have a level of confidence in the legal process and the court process when they bring forward their complaint. This bill goes someway to helping with that.

We also need to talk about police culture. On the substance of and the change in this bill, we need to address that there have been numerous reviews into police culture in various states, and investigations by news outlets as well. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done. The report of the 2022 independent commission of inquiry into Queensland Police Service responses to domestic and family violence found the following concerning Queensland Police—and we must think about these findings in conjunction with just how many reports from victims do not lead to prosecution; we have to think about the nexus between all these issues. The report found:

Despite the initial protestations of the Commissioner of Police and the President of the Police Union of Employees, the Commission has found clear evidence of a culture where attitudes of misogyny, sexism and racism are allowed to be expressed, and at times acted upon, largely unchecked. Where complaints in relation to such treatment are brushed aside or dealt with in the most minor of ways and those who complain are the ones who are shunned and punished. It is hardly surprising that these attitudes are reflected then in the way that those police who hold them respond to victim-survivors. It is a failure of the leadership of the organisation that this situation has been allowed to continue over many years …

A 2021 HeraldSun investigation uncovered allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by senior New South Wales police officers, with these individuals often protected by a boys' club culture against internal complaints. An independent review of New South Wales Police by former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick in 2019 found that one in three women had reported sexual harassment by a colleague in the past five years. Within the context of such a culture within state police forces—while, of course, abhorrent—there's no doubt that there is a flow-on effect on how police then properly handle, investigate and recommend prosecutions in relation to sexual and domestic violence cases. So, whilst this bill doesn't deal with this directly, it must be highlighted that a wholesale culture change within Australia's law enforcement fraternity is required as part of the wider change to put victims of such horrible crimes at the heart of our investigation and justice system.

This week I've in raising my grave concerns and calls for greater action in relation to domestic violence. This is all linked. Our systems are not yet set up to protect victims of violence. Too often they are women. In my electorate of Warringah, caseworkers for Women and Children First meet women who have suffered from domestic violence for coffee in public spaces so they have an easy excuse of why they're there. Why? Because so many are being tracked by technology. These organisations, on the frontline of the domestic violence catastrophe in this country, are trying to offer support, safety and advice. But, too often, there are concerns that there isn't enough support from law enforcement and then the justice system. For example, just last week, a client of that centre, who is living in a refuge, had her location disclosed to the court by Medicare. It was demanded by a dangerous perpetrator without any advance warning. It shows how our justice system and our bureaucratic systems are simply not set up to protect victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. We have a lot of talk in this place, but we really need to start getting more action. In particular, we need leadership from the top to ensure we have wholesale systemic changes across multiple levels of organisation.

The bill before us does create positive change. I really commend the government and urge them to continue working on bringing in more change. It aims to improve the experiences of victims of sexual assault within the criminal justice system. Specifically, it makes the following key changes: it expands protections for vulnerable persons and ensures that the special rules more comprehensively protect vulnerable persons; it makes the evidence of a vulnerable adult complainant's reputation, with respect to sexual activity, inadmissible in a vulnerable adult proceeding; and it restricts the admissibility of sexual experience evidence of vulnerable adult complainants, unless the court grants leave and considers specific criteria. The court must also have regard to whether the probative value of such evidence outweighs any distress, humiliation or embarrassment it might cause the vulnerable person.

The bill also enables a court to order evidence recording hearings in proceedings involving vulnerable persons if it's considered it's in the interests of justice to do so. The bill also sets out conditions regarding how the evidence recording hearing must be conducted. It introduces safeguards to protect recorded evidence given by vulnerable persons from misuse. It also sets out a new requirement for the court to arrange an interpreter for a vulnerable person to assist the person to understand and participate in the proceedings if they are unable to because of inadequate knowledge of English language or physical disability.

Finally, the bill clarifies that the current restriction on publishing material that identifies or is likely to identify another person as a child witness, child complainant or vulnerable adult complainant in a proceeding does not apply to a vulnerable person who publishes self-identifying material. This is important because the victim should not be restricted from being able to express themselves. We know, and it has really been highlighted more and more, just how important that is, because silencing victims adds to the trauma that they have already suffered.

We have to be cognisant of just how many—among the rates, it's impossible to know the exact number. Such a small percentage of sexual assault survivors raise a complaint in the first place. They are fearful of going to the police. Their treatment by the police often leads to a lot of questions. The lack of proper investigation and then the incredibly small percentage of ensuing prosecutions lead to a situation where victims and survivors of sexual assault have so little trust and faith in the system and are reluctant to engage with it. That absolutely must change. Anyone who has been in this place over the last few years simply can't look at this question without reflecting on the treatment in the media of an alleged victim in this place.

Overall, this bill is a step in the right direction for a more victim-centred justice system for those who suffer the trauma of sexual assault. But I urge the government to remain open-minded on further reforms as needed, particularly to ensure greater streamlining between federal and state jurisdictions. It that has been brought to my attention that, where a case goes across state lines, often evidence and prosecution fall through the cracks for victims of sexual assault, in particular in the case of minors. That may need to be considered from the Commonwealth federal jurisdiction because going across state lines often leads to the cases not proceeding to prosecution.

It's clear that this is an area where we must do so much more. We must put the victim first and provide adequate protections and support. I know this is an ongoing situation. Many members of parliament, in particular anyone who attended the March4Justice rallies before Parliament House—it was incredible. Women of all ages, races, colours, experiences and financial demographics were in tears that finally there was some conversation about the experience and what they had survived. We simply can't stay silent on those issues. It's time we bring sexual assault to the fore to really deal with it. We know the links when it comes to domestic violence; this is all interlinked. We have to have a robust system of investigation, prosecution and then judicial determination to ensure it can be dealt with.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge all the speakers on this important bill and all of their contributions. This is a really important change, and I really want to thank everyone who has contributed.

I too am going to speak on the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024. As the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in the Albanese government, I'm very proud to be here today supporting this very comprehensive suite of reforms which stakeholders, experts and victims-survivors have been calling for. Many people right throughout the community—so many people—have been calling for this for a long period of time. I know I and my colleagues are all proud to be delivering this suite of measures to address these issues.

Our government is deeply committed to improving criminal justice responses to sexual assault. This means ensuring the criminal justice system supports vulnerable people at all stages of the criminal justice process. The bill before us today will improve the experience of victims-survivors of sexual violence in our justice system and builds on the very extensive work of the Albanese government to strengthen those criminal justice responses to sexual assault.

In our 2023-24 budget, our government committed $14.7 million to strengthen the way the justice system responds to sexual assault. This includes an Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence, a lived experience expert advisory group to support that inquiry and a ministerial led national roundtable to drive cross-sector collaboration.

This bill seeks to amend the Crimes Act 1914 to strengthen protections for vulnerable persons involved in Commonwealth criminal proceedings, building on our government's extensive reforms in this space. In addition, the bill implements a number of outstanding recommendations from the 2017 final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and supports the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse.

Importantly, this bill expands the circumstances in which vulnerable people who are involved in court proceedings as complainants or witnesses are afforded enhanced protections. It makes evidence about sexual reputation inadmissible for all victims-survivors of child sexual abuse and places greater restrictions on evidence relating to a person's sexual experience. It addresses barriers that may deter vulnerable people from giving evidence by introducing evidence recording hearings and allowing those hearings to be used in subsequent trials and retrials. It ensures victims-survivors can speak out about their experiences if they wish to do so by clarifying that they may publish self-identifying information or give their informed consent to a third party, such as a media organisation, to publish that information. They are able to do that if they want to.

To more comprehensively protect vulnerable persons, this bill will expand the range of offences covered by existing protections for vulnerable persons, including crimes against humanity and drug offences involving children. In recognising that it can take many, many years for people to disclose the abuse that has occurred, it will also ensure that adult complainants are able to access vulnerable witness protections for offences that occurred when they were children. As we know, often it as many years later that people are able to express what has happened to them.

Importantly, this bill also introduces a number of measures to address the admissibility of evidence concerning vulnerable people. Any evidence about a vulnerable person's sexual reputation will be made inadmissible. The bill also restricts the admissibility of sexual experience of vulnerable adult complainants unless the court grants leave and considers specific criteria, including that the evidence is substantially relevant to the facts at issue. It has to have relevance. The court must also give regard to whether its probative value outweighs any distress, humiliation or embarrassment to that vulnerable person, because it's so important that we do not retraumatise people through victim-blaming. It cannot happen.

The bill will also address barriers that may in fact deter witnesses from actually giving evidence. The new measures empower a court in some cases to order an evidence recording hearing for a vulnerable person to give evidence. It also requires all evidence given by that person outside of an evidence recording hearing, including on cross-examination, to be recorded so that it may be used in later proceedings. These amendments are another way to reduce the risk of retraumatising victims-survivors that may have to provide evidence multiple times in relation to the same matter and ensures those vulnerable persons can give evidence in a safe and controlled environment and do not have to repeat it over and over and be retraumatised by that.

The bill supports the voices of victims-survivors by ensuring they're empowered to speak about their experiences if they choose to do so. The bill makes clear the current restriction on publishing material that identifies another person as a child witness, child complainant or vulnerable adult complainant in a proceeding does not apply to a person who publishes material that identifies themselves. The bill will also remove the requirement for the proceedings to be finalised before such self-publication may occur. This means victims-survivors are supported to speak out should they wish to do so, giving them agency, power and control over their lives and experiences.

The reforms in this bill have been rightly welcomed by many advocacy groups around the country. The CEO of Rape & Sexual Assault Research & Advocacy, Rachael Burgin, said these amendments are:

… a necessary shift of focus away from victims of crime and onto the actions of the accused.

The National Women's Safety Alliance have also welcomed the changes, acknowledging the extensive consultation undertaken and our government's commitment to tangible and real change in the criminal justice system. I really want to commend and thank all of these groups for their involvement in the ongoing consultation period and thank them for the work that they do in highlighting the voices of victims-survivors right across the country.

These reforms support victims-survivors in engaging with the Commonwealth criminal justice system. It is absolutely crucial that victims-survivors are given support and confidence that the justice system will deliver equitable and persistent outcomes whilst always being cognisant of minimising the risk of retraumatisation through the justice process, because we know how incredibly challenging and difficult that can be. Our Attorney-General has ensured that these reforms have been developed in close consultation with victims-survivors, and I would like to acknowledge any victims-survivors who may be listening today. Our government knows how vital it is that the voices of those victims-survivors are listened to and are heard right throughout all portfolios that may impact them, and we will continue to make sure that they are at the centre of all the decision-making. These voices are very central to our efforts. I offer my acknowledgement and thanks to those who have shared their experiences as a platform for change. We have listened, and we continue to listen. I also particularly want to thank the Attorney-General for his tireless dedication to this cause.

Importantly, the amendments brought before the House today directly align with our National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32 and the First Action Plan 2023-2027. Specifically, action 9 of the First Action Plan aims to ensure justice systems are safe, accessible and easier for victims-survivors to navigate. We know that initiatives in the justice system can create change through providing appropriate survivor-centred justice responses, holding perpetrators to account and responding to all victims-survivors, including children and young people, by listening, acting and responding in a trauma informed way.

Our government has invested $2.3 billion across the past two budgets to deliver ambitious reforms to address the drivers of family, domestic and sexual violence, and to ensure victims-survivors have the support they need and require. In our 2023-24 budget we also committed funding for a number of sexual violence prevention initiatives, including $8.2 million to design, deliver and evaluate multiple trials to prevent sexual violence and harm; $3.5 million to support Teach Us Consent to develop resources for young people aged 16 and above; and $6.5 million to work with states and territories to strengthen and harmonise sexual assault and consent laws and improve criminal justice responses for victims-survivors. And, of course, we appointed the nations first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, to ensure that the diversity of lived experiences is heard and constantly raised and championed at a national level.

Today's bill is another example of a further significant step being taken by the Commonwealth to address these very important issues within our criminal justice system and ensure that those voices of victims-survivors are central to that. I commend the bill to the House.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the introduction of the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024. There is no doubt that the criminal justice process is distressing and traumatising for victims-survivors. From the very outset, it is a process that is challenging for victims-survivors to trust, especially given the common and unfortunately largely accurate perception that the criminal justice system is ineffective at prosecuting sexual offences. Even if a person feels able to report the offences committed against them, that is just the start of a process that will often serve to compound the trauma of the original assault. The adversarial justice system; the nature of the offences, which are often committed in private, where victims-survivors are the only witness; and the intractable, sexist perceptions of victims-survivors throughout our society—each of these factors makes seeking a conviction uniquely challenging in sexual violence matters.

So what might the current process look like in practice? Initially, a victim may almost certainly fear that they will not be believed by police when reporting a crime. They may well feel embarrassed and humiliated by having to share intimate sexual details with lawyers and the police. Then, if the case does proceed to court, they will face an examination-in-chief in which they will have to retell traumatising details of the salt. They may well then face a gruelling cross-examination in which their honesty and their reputation are challenged or in which they are confronted with aggressive tactics designed to intimidate and confuse. They may fear retribution from the perpetrator while the trauma of the trial is ongoing. They may be worried that they will be shamed in front of friends or their family.

The fact is that victim-survivors face different challenges in the court that severely complicate their access to justice. Their needs are different from victims of other crimes in that the harms of continuing a prosecution may substantially outweigh the potential for a conviction. As a society, we must do what we can to eliminate or at least minimise the traumatising impact of our legal processes on victim-survivors. We must always keep them front of mind.

To that end, I commend the government's efforts to improve the experience of victims and survivors of sexual violence by asking the Australian Law Reform Commission, the ALRC, to lead an inquiry into how our justice system responds to and deals with sexual violence. The creation of an expert advisory group is also a welcome development. This will help ensure that the lived experiences of victims and survivors will inform the ALRC's work. Hopefully, this group will also inform the final recommendations.

But it is with sadness and frustration that I note that there are still outstanding recommendations from the 2017 final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. That five-year inquiry produced a 17-volume report with over 400 recommendations at a cost of nearly $350 million. It highlighted the failings of our institutions to keep our children safe and the culture of secrecy and cover-up that was allowed to persist for decades. It exposed the devastating and persisting effects that child sexual abuse can have throughout the lifetime of an affected individual.

So why is it that we are still in the process of implementing those recommendations more than six years later? As a relatively new member of parliament, I am constantly shocked and dismayed by the number of recommendations made by experts through numerous inquiries, from royal commissions down, which are never acted upon. We know what to do. The experts have told us what to do. We just need to do it. So I trust that, when the government receives the report from the ALRC in 12 months, it will seek to promptly and thoroughly implement the recommendations.

Today's bill is not just about protecting vulnerable victim-survivors. It does take a step towards that, but it is also about achieving just outcomes. The enhanced protections in the bill include making evidence about sexual reputation inadmissible for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and placing greater restrictions upon evidence relating to a person's sexual experience. This kind of evidence can be traumatic to victims to give and is often a vehicle for victim blaming. The bill also includes the introduction of evidence-recording hearings and permitting the recordings to be used in subsequent trials and retrials. It's very important that victim-survivors are no longer to be forced to go through these processes again and again. It's also important that the bill includes a clause such that the victims will not be required to see the accused at the time these recordings are made.

The bill clarifies that victim-survivors are free to publish self-identifying information or to give their informed consent to others to publish that information if they so wish. It's important because each of these protections will go some way towards minimising the harms associated with the prosecution of sexual violence. We still have a long way to go. I take this opportunity to thank the numerous organisations that consulted with the government about this important bill, and I note that, in the main, they are supportive of the changes that it introduces.

I commend the bill to the House.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

CLAYDON (—) (): I thank all the speakers who have come before me to lend their support to this most important bill, the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024, before the Australian parliament. This amendment to the Crimes Act, which will indeed strengthen the criminal justice response for victims and survivors of sexual assault in Australia, is important work of this parliament. It's been a long time coming, and I, along with many of my colleagues, have sat on numerous inquiries over the years and through important royal commissions and have read papers written by experts and, most importantly, the testimony of the victims and survivors themselves, who have called for these changes to occur in our criminal justice system. The legislation before the House today will go a long way to improving the experience of victims and survivors of sexual violence, particularly for vulnerable people in Commonwealth criminal proceedings.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse—a very important royal commission for this nation, which former Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved in the last moments of her role as Prime Minister—made 409 recommendations. In its final report to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse, it put forward a number of really key recommendations that this legislation is now picking up. All 206 of the Commonwealth related recommendations from that royal commission are now implemented or are in progress, and this legislation specifically addresses four of those that were related to the pre-recording of evidence for vulnerable people and provides for those recordings to be admissible in criminal proceedings. I cannot thank the Attorney-General enough for bringing this bill forward. We just heard from the previous speaker that there was so much evidence provided in that royal commission. There are two volumes of that royal commission dedicated to the horrific crimes that were committed in my hometown of Newcastle. My community, I dare to say, along with those of Ballarat, probably experience more of the ongoing pain and trauma of child sexual abuse that occurred in institutions that utterly betrayed the trust and faith that were put into them at the time. The profound and ongoing effects of those are seen and lived every day in our community.

Taking up those remaining recommendations that go to assisting vulnerable people to not have to repeat their story again and again and instead allow for pre-recordings of that evidence to be used throughout criminal proceedings is a great step forward. It has been one that survivors and victims have asked for for a long time now, and it is great to see this Albanese Labor government putting that into law. This legislation also advances theme 2 of the first National Action Plan of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030. That is to underline support and empowerment of victims and survivors. The national strategy recognises that the effects of child sexual abuse can be cumulative, complex and long lasting. I think I indicated before that communities like Newcastle can attest to just how complex and long lasting those impacts are, not just for victims and survivors but also for their families and all of those who knew and loved them. It's devastating.

This legislation will also be supporting the Standing Council of Attorneys-General's workplan, which is to again strengthen criminal justice responses to sexual assault. That workplan runs from 2022 to 2027, and it seeks to bring all the states and territories and the Commonwealth together to take collective and individual actions to improve the experiences of victims-survivors of sexual assault in the criminal justice system. So you can see that this legislation is really building on a lot of important work done before in terms of the royal commission, but it is also an integral part of implementing aspects of the national plan and the attorneys-general's workplan in terms of strengthening the criminal justice responses to sexual assault.

You might ask: why might that be the case? There are probably not many women in Australia who would ask that question, but there might be some in this chamber who perhaps haven't been as closely associated with a shocking case of child sexual abuse or who aren't across the prevalence of sexual violence in our communities. I don't know a single woman who has not at some stage in her life given serious consideration to these matters. It is still, tragically, the case in Australia that the majority of people do not report sexual assaults. We've got some statistics, and I am the first to underline the fact that it is very difficult at times to work through the data that is available. There are variant survey methods that are being applied, but it is estimated that some 200,000 sexual assaults occur in Australia each year, and only 11 to 13 per cent of those are ever reported to police. Of that group, only about five per cent make it to trial and, of that group, only about two per cent result in a conviction.

These are damning statistics. It is little wonder that, when we try to put our minds to why so few people are choosing to report, it is quite confronting to us as a society, because women—and it is predominantly women. I do acknowledge that there is a proportion of men who are victims and survivors of sexual assault, especially in the case of the child sexual assaults that occurred in our institutions. The reasons that people give for not reporting sexual violence and sexual assault in our communities is that most times they are related to the offender or they are known to that offender. Their relationship to that offender is deeply complex, and that is a profound barrier to seeking justice. They lack confidence in our justice system, and I think those statistics I mentioned earlier give you a sense of why that might be the case. They fear reprisals and stigma.

Let's not forget the deeply troubling and erroneous view—but no less embedded mythology—in our communities that women lie about sexual assault. This is still prevalent in so many circles. Anything we can do to now break down these barriers to justice is a good thing. There was a slight glimmer of hope when I looked at the statistics, in that sexual assault reports to police are steadily rising. We are seeing some increase over time, so perhaps some of those barriers are beginning to break down, but we have an enormous way to go. Legislative reform like that before the House today is an absolutely important part, and I am so profoundly grateful to this government and the Attorney-General for not shying away from this legislative reform that is required.

But let's not kid ourselves: what has to accompany legislative reform is really profound cultural change in our communities. That is the really hard slog work, and that has to be accompanied by comprehensive, evidence based community education campaigns that make very clear to people the drivers of gender based violence. We know one of the very big drivers of gender based violence is the deep gender inequities that continue to exist in this community. I am so proud to be a part of a government that is putting gender equality at the centre of everything we do. Every piece of legislation we have considered in this House has had a gender lens run across it to ensure we are doing the very best we can to not just do legislative reform to assist victims and survivors but work in those areas that will go to addressing and preventing these shameful harms, crimes and acts that continue to have far too great a prevalence in our communities today.

Many before me have gone to the detail of this legislation; I really appreciate the thoughtful contributions from before. What is so good about this legislation is it really is putting the victims and survivors, and their experiences, back at the centre of our legislative thinking. I think the privilege that is now being given to lived experience in the adviser panels the Attorney-General has put together—in fact, most ministers across a range of portfolios now have these fantastic expert panels that are advising them at each step of the way that are made up of people with lived experience. This is a great step for lawmaking in this country. I applaud all the ministers, and especially the Attorney-General in this context, for making sure the lived experience of victims and survivors is at the centre of our thinking and our drafting of laws now.

There will be many people in my community much relieved to see these amendments being made here today. Sadly, in my community I have many people who have children who are victims, who are still surviving, and parents who, to this day, grieve the loss of their child who was subjected to horrific acts of crime in those very institutions that purported to care for them. I say to those families, on the tragic circumstances in which they lost their children: I hope we honour them and their lives in some way today by removing some of those very stubborn barriers to justice that people have experienced in Australia. The profound and ongoing impacts that sexual violence has on the lives of so many people in the communities we represent in this House is a constant reminder to me. If we can make the criminal justice system a place where people have confidence they will be afforded justice, that will be a very good thing.

I just want to pay tribute to all those advocates, all of those survivors and all those that have worked on the criminal justice system for many, many decades now trying to get a better and more just outcome. I say thank you for your service to our communities. I don't underestimate how difficult that work is. If this has been triggering for anybody, I do want to remind all survivors and victims that, please, there is support. Reach out. 1800RESPECT and other organisations are there. We hear you, we believe you and let's get justice for you too.

Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the powerful speech by the member for Newcastle. The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children says we must 'bring sexual violence out of the shadows'. That's very true. Recent ANROWS data shows that sexual violence rates in Australia are high. Fifty-one per cent of women in their 20s and 34 per cent of women in their 40s have experienced it. First Nations women report three times as many incidents of sexual violence as non-Indigenous women. One in 25 men have experienced sexual assault. More than one in 10 girls experience sexual abuse before the age of 15. The statistics are horrifying, and the horror doesn't end after the attack. The common impacts of sexual violence include mental health issues like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, a reduced capacity to work and study throughout life and social isolation.

Sexual violence comes with an enormous personal cost and a cost to society, so how can we bring it out of the shadows? The answer is that we have to support victims to come forward and to dismantle the power imbalances and gender stereotypes that stop them from doing so. Brittany Higgins was brave, but her experience has been a stark reminder of just how hostile it can be to anyone who pursues justice for an alleged sexual crime. How many times did you hear a woman say during her trial, 'Why would you put someone through it'? I say 'her trial' because often it is. Certainly from observing how these cases play out in the public arena most women would not. I again acknowledge the comments of the member for Newcastle in noting how few cases come to trial and the shameful statistics around that. Many victims-survivors describe the court process as 'horrific' and 'retraumatising'. The adversarial system is stacked against them, and then there is the media reporting that comes with it, some of it utterly shameful.

The purpose of the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024 is to strengthen the protections for victims-survivors of child sexual abuse and vulnerable people in Commonwealth criminal proceedings. The amendments relate to Commonwealth crimes and do not apply to sexual violence offences in state and territory legislation. As the Law Council of Australia says, victims-survivors can face barriers within the criminal justice system and are at a particular disadvantage compared with other witnesses being called to give evidence about their experiences.

Among the provisions in this bill, evidence of sexual experience or reputation of a vulnerable adult complainant will not be allowed unless the court is satisfied that the evidence is substantially relevant to a fact in the proceeding, and recordings of evidence by a vulnerable person will be allowed to be used in any subsequent trial or retrial. Both of these provisions are important because they will minimise retraumatisation. This is particularly relevant to those who've been affected by child sexual abuse, which leaves people with lifelong trauma. The last thing we want to do is retraumatise them in the system.

I commend the government, particularly the Attorney-General and his team, for this bill. It fixes some of the existing gaps in Commonwealth criminal proceedings. But, today, I call on the government and, indeed, all of us to do more to address sexual violence. This is something that shouldn't just happen in this place. These are conversations that we need to be having everywhere in our communities. More funding is needed to address current service black spots and waiting times for sexual assault services. As it stands, survivors are being told to wait months for trauma counselling. In the eastern region of Victoria, which includes my electorate of Goldstein, the waiting list for counselling is six to eight months. The Sexual Assault Crisis Line is the central after-hours coordination point in Victoria for responding to sexual assault. It can consistently respond to only 65 per cent of calls because it's so understaffed and underfunded. Waiting list times for men's behaviour change programs are too long. Men using violence are also on months long waiting lists. What happens to the men, women and children in-between?

We need dedicated prevention funding for sexual assault services and resourcing for schools to ensure effective consent and respectful relationships education. More funding is needed to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities have the resources to design and implement culturally safe and trauma-aware healing programs. Right now there are major gaps for women's safety that must be addressed. As Fair Agenda says:

Reporting a sexual assault, and trying to get justice, closure or healing should not cause someone further harm.

Too many rape survivors are hurt by the… "justice" system. … At the very least, legal avenues for reporting sexual violence should not be traumatic; they should hold the people responsible for sexual violence to account; and they should provide victim-survivors with agency and choice when seeking justice.

Multiple reviews have been conducted. Hundreds of recommendations have been made. Attorney-Generals around the country have acknowledged that reform is needed, and committed to some of the changes necessary—

But more needs to be done—

31,000 people reported sexual assault to police last year—most of them women and girls. We can't wait years to address the harm this broken system is doing to people who need it right now.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.