Domestic violence crackdown in ACT: Shane Rattenbury tables reform bill in Legislative Assembly

A bill to reform how family violence related crimes are dealt with in court has been tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly. Here’s what it means for offenders and their victims.

Domestic violence offenders could be hit with harsher penalties while the victims of family violence would get more support under legislation proposed in the ACT.

The bill has been praised by domestic violence advocacy groups, with YWCA Canberra’s policy officer stating changes to how family violence cases are prosecuted in the nation’s capital could “ empower survivors to purse a justice response.”

Yet concerns about increased incarceration rates and “over -punishing” offenders have been raised by the ACT Law Society.

Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury tabled the Family Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 bill at the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

If passed it would create an aggravated offence scheme allowing expanded penalties for some offences if committed in a family violence context.

The bill is expected to be debated when the Assembly sits again in late march, however the process could be extended if the Justice and Community Safety (JACS) Committee calls for an inquiry into the bill.

If passed the bill will limit the ability for domestic violence Victim Impact Statements to be cross examined in court proceedings.

Additional offences would also be added into the schedule of disqualifying offences for ACT’s Working with Vulnerable People check.

The bill also outlines a requirement for assembly to review the Family Violence Act 2016 every three years.

Additionally it would change the name of the existing offence “sexual relationship with a child or young person in special care” to persistent sexual abuse of a child or young person in special care.”

This change aims to reflect the true nature of sexual abuse against minors making it clear children cannot consent to a sexual relationship with an adult.

In his speech to Assembly on Thursday Mr Rattenbury thanked 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame who specifically advocated for that change when she spoke at the Meeting of Attorneys-General in November last year.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury has tabled a bill to reform how family violence cases are prosecuted in the ACT.

Mr Rattenbury also addressed concerns raised by members of Canberra’s legal community that the bill would lead to “over-punishing” family violence offenders.

“(This bill) is not a blunt instrument for automatically increasing incarceration,” he said.

“All the considerations going into sentencing still remain.

“What it does do is increase the maximum penalty, available when offending is so severe that no other option is appropriate.

“It provides another tool for the court to recognise serious harm”

YWCA Canberra policy officer Leah Dwyer told The Canberra Star the organisation supports legislative reform which “empowers survivors to pursue a justice response” in a way that does not re-traumatise them.

“(Victim survivors) who choose to pursue a justice response, are often re-traumatised by the system; they are interrogated, often disbelieved, their experiences can be minimised or they endure onerous levels of bureaucracy.

“These barriers can occur at all levels of a formal justice response; from police, the court system and the media.”

Grace Tame’s advocacy been cited as an impetus Shane Rattenbury’s push to change outdated names for family violence related offences. Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Ms Dwyer also said YWCA supported changing “archaic and grossly inappropriate” names of family violence or sexual related charges which “imply a level of consent and minimises perpetrator accountability.

“As we have seen from Grace Tame’s advocacy, nomenclature in legislation matters,” she said.

“That we are finally progressing this reform is a testament to Grace Tame and the important voice that survivors can bring to the table.

Ms Dwyer described the bill, alongside the recent criminalisation of “stealthing”, the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex, and the tabled bill to introduce a communicative model of consent in the ACT, as an “enormous step for community safety across the board”.

However her enthusiasm for legislative reform was tempered:

“Legislative reform is only one element to cultural change,” Ms Dwyer said.

“We must see legislative reform be reinforced with strong community messaging and education but also political leadership.”

Leah Dwyer, policy officer at YWCA Canberra, says legislative reform against family violence needs to be backed up by social change.

Over the last 12 months YWCA’s Domestic Violence Support Service assisted 178 women impacted by family violence.

YWCA Canberra’s Community Services Team, which provides outreach support and assistance for women experiencing issues including family and domestic violence, housing insecurity and homelessness, assisted 243 people over the last 12 months.

Ms Dwyer said the majority of people assisted by the Community Service team were women fleeing family and domestic violence.

However, in a statement to the Canberra Star an ACT Law Society spokesman said while the organisation believes it is important for family violence offenders to be held accountable and appropriately punished for their crimes they were still concerned about unintended consequences to the bill.

“Broad issues we raised in relation to the original bill have not been addressed in the revised version,” the spokesman said.

“The maximum penalties have been increased for numerous offences under the Crimes Act 1900 if the offence involves family violence.

“Our concern is that this is likely to have wide-reaching impact beyond the application of the increased penalty to a subset of matters including only serious or severe examples of family violence offences.

“The Bill should be approached with caution to ensure that there are no unintended consequences on established court processes and procedures, or to the criminal sentencing regime as a whole.”

The Canberra Star’s coverage of family violence in court

Courts across Australia are full of family and domestic violence cases and the ACT is no exception. Here are two cases that captured the extent of family violence cases in court.

Courts across Australia are full of family and domestic violence cases. The ACT is no exception.

Clarke Menzies

Clarke Menzies was sentenced to a four-month suspended jail sentence and a 12 month good behaviour order in December 2021 after assaulting his former partner with a pole and using a blowtorch on the family dog.

The court heard following an argument Menzies used a pole from a hanging artwork to assault his partner, hitting her face and body, and at one point aiming at her crotch.

When one of the family dogs came to defend her, biting the offender’s leg, Menzies briefly left the living room and returned with blow torch and directed the torch on the pet’s face.

The dog’s fur was singed from the torch.

Two months after this incident the court heard Menzies trashed the front lawn of his ex-partner’s mother’s house.

He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, common assault and two counts of damaging property not exceeding $5000.

Supplied Editorial Convicted family violence offender Clarke Menzies leaves ACT Law Courts

The court heard Menzies and his ex-partner had been in a relationship for 20 years and had three children together.

His Lawyer Emma Bayliss said her client had a drug problem during his offending, was not medicated for his bipolar Disorder during the time of his offences.

She also said Menzies himself had been a victim of family violence as a child at the hands of his father.

Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter told Menzies’s his mismanagement of his mental health and drug abuse created a dangerous situation.

“It’s just appalling behaviour,” she said.

“Mental health isn’t an excuse, you should have done something about it.”

Michael O’Brien

Michael O’Brien was sentence to a 12 month good behaviour order and a three month jail sentence after terrorising his former girlfriend with a chainsaw. 

O’Brien walked free from the ACT Law Courts after being sentenced in November as he had already spent three months' jail time while remanded in custody awaiting sentencing.

He pleaded guilty to common assault and making a reckless threat to kill.

The court heard O‘Brien and the victim had been in a relationship for eight months and had lived together at the premises attached to the offender’s father’s Fyshwick business.

According to court documents on July 7 the couple had a verbal argument at their residence in Fyshwick and the woman took a pole from a vacuum as a weapon and walked out of the house towards the entrance of the property.

Michael O’Brien faced the ACT Magistrates Court after he terrorised his girlfriend with a chainsaw

O’Brien then armed himself with a chainsaw and revved it at her.

She then threw the vacuum pole at him and went away.

“Pick it up, I’ll f**k you up”, O’Brien yelled, according to court documents.

The woman returned picked up the pole and then hit the chainsaw with the pole.

Court documents state O’Brien then said “I’m going to kill ya” before grabbing the victim by the back of her neck.

After he jumped on her back, O‘Brien punched the woman in the head and slapped her across the face.

Legal Aid lawyer Edward Chen told the court threats to kill exists “on a spectrum” and it was unlikely his client genuinely intended to kill the victim.

Magistrate Glenn Theakston said making the threat while wielding a chainsaw aggravated the threat.

“Chainsaws are one of the most dangerous weapons you can get without a licence and can cause grotesque injuries,” he said.