Albanese Government announces $21.4 million to help vulnerable Aussies

The Albanese Government has made a big commitment to help some of Australia’s most vulnerable people through the worst time in their lives.

The Albanese Government has made a major funding announcement, committing an additional $21.4 million to improve sexual assault victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system.

The funding announcement coincides with the tabling of a 669-page report in parliament produced by the Australian Law Reform Commission, which makes 64 recommendations concerning how the criminal justice system responds to sexual violence.

The major funding announcement also follows news.com.au’s #TakeTheStand campaign, cataloguing the journeys of 20 victim-survivors throughout their various experiences with the criminal justice system in Australia.

The campaign has called for eight major reforms including funding for Independent Legal Representation for victim-survivors, and the introduction of Justice Navigators to support and accompany victims throughout their entire justice journeys.

Of the $21.4 million funding allocation, $19.6 million will be used to introduce Justice System Navigators throughout Australia, and expand Independent Legal Representation pilots currently operating in three jurisdictions across all eight.

Sarah Rosenberg, who featured exclusively in the #TakeTheStand campaign and who serves on the Lived Experience Advisory Group for the ALRC inquiry, said she was thrilled that the Independent Legal Representation (ILR) pilots will be expanded across the country.

“It’s absolutely wild that victims are currently not legally represented in the trial against their own (alleged) offender,” Ms Rosenberg said.

“I felt like cannon fodder.

“Reading the recommendations and seeing ILR solidified in there, I burst into tears when I realised that no one will ever have to go through what I did again,” she told news.com.au.

“It will come down to implementation of course, but the intention is there.”

Sarah Rosenberg exclusively told her story in news.com.au’s Take The Stand campaign. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/news.com.au

The Independent Legal Representation pilots already operating in Western Australia, Victoria and the ACT will be extended until June 2028, and simultaneously expanded into all other Australian jurisdictions.

Rape survivor Madeline Lane, who also featured in the #TakeTheStand campaign and sharing her story to call for funding for Justice Navigators, said she was “incredibly glad they have finally backed it”.

“It is such a pivotal thing that can change the entire experience of people going through the system,” Ms Lane said.

“It would have been a game-changer for me to have a Justice Navigator act as a single point of contact, to help me through the process.

“All the delays and random phone calls while I was at work, talking to me about rape, while I was completely unsupported could have been avoided.

“I feel proud this is happening. But I mainly feel relieved. To see this change when it comes through will bring some peace.”

Madi Lane also bravely shared her story for the campaign. Picture: news.com.au

Justice System Navigators have already been successfully implemented in England and Wales where, since 2007, survivors have had access to this form of support (there, the program is called Independent Sexual Violence Advocates).

Evaluations of that program show the model has been hugely successful, halving the number of sexual assault complainants who drop out of the legal process.

In Australia, many victim-survivors report that the criminal justice process is long and lonely, with frequent delays, radio silence and a revolving cast of support people.

Survivors say they often have to repeat their stories as they are passed through multiple sets of hands and this leads to feelings of isolation, and high rates of disengagement, as pre-existing feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and voicelessness are reactivated.

Ms Lane, who has been advocating for Justice System Navigators in partnership with news.com.au, described them as trained specialists who accompany victim-survivors “from first report to court”, helping them understand and exercise their rights.

More than 7000 people signed news.com.au #TakeTheStand petition for Justice System Navigators.

The ALRC Report also makes a range of other recommendations intended to reduce trauma and delays, including the introduction or expansion of specialist court features and ground rules hearings; better protection of counselling notes; and the establishment of a national taskforce to develop a national quality assurance framework for police interviewing of complainants of sexual violence.

Nina Funnell is Walkley Award winning freelance journalist and the creator of the #TakeTheStand campaign.

Originally published as Albanese Government announces $21.4 million to help vulnerable Aussies