Family Violence royal commission proposes policing, social services, courts overhaul

A TAX or levy could help pay the billions of dollars that it would cost to deal with family violence reforms. Would you pay it?

Domestic Violence Royal Commission. The findings of the Royal Commission into Family Violence being released at State Parliament. Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty who's son, Luke Batty, was killed by his father in 2014, sparking awareness of family violence and ultimately leading to the Royal Commission. Picture: Eugene Hyland

NEW safety hubs for victims, body cameras for police and a huge boost to emergency housing are the key planks of a landmark blueprint to tackle family violence.

A special tax or levy is being considered to help fund the changes, which police said would immediately require an extra 500 officers in Victoria.

The state government yesterday unveiled the sweeping plan for an overhaul of laws, bureaucracy, policing and ­social services — all to save the lives of women and children.

Responding to the nation’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence, the government promised to implement all 227 recommendations, likely to cost billions of dollars.

ANALYSIS: Without funding what’s the point?

Commissioner Marcia Neave said “significant” funding would be required to meet all recommendations.

“This might require government to reconsider its funding priorities,” she said.

However, she said options to bring in cash, which had been suggested to her inquiry, were worth consideration.

One was to take interest earned on tenants’ bonds held by the government to finance some property costs related to family violence. Another would be to put aside proceeds of crime money, which the commission said was unlikely to cover the costs required.

Billions will be needed.

“Another option ... would be to identify new sources of revenue, including a broadbased tax or levy, to fund all or part of the family violence system,” her report says.

“The community may well support tangible actions that recognise the urgent need to address the serious social problem of family violence,” the commissioner said.

Premier Daniel Andrews did not rule out a tax or levy, and it is understood that the government will consider a variety of options to pay for the reforms.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy rejected the need for a new tax as “a default”. He suggested that resources be prioritised, based on what the royal commission had recommended, and it was difficult to say what the ultimate cost would be.

Premier Daniel Andrews promised a massive funding boost for housing in the state Budget, to meet Commissioner Marcia Neave’s call for a “blitz” to unclog crisis accommodation and tackle homelessness.

Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty with the report. Picture: Eugene Hyland

The report also called for:

AN immediate funding boost for services that support ­victims and families;

SPECIALIST family violence courts with remote witness ­facilities, child-friendly areas and tailored legal and counselling services;

PHASING out communal refuges in favour of private and safe accommodation;

BANKS and utilities to ­develop family violence guidelines to beat victim hardship;

FAMILY violence training for all key workforces such as ­hospitals and schools;

LAW changes to ensure better information-sharing between agencies about high-risk women and families;

EXPANDING respectful relationship education in all government schools from prep all the way to year 12.

The Herald Sun can also ­reveal that extra measures to clamp down on perpetrators, such as a dangerous offenders register and a specific family violence offence — neither part of the royal commission report — are still being actively pursued by the government.

Former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, whose son Luke was murdered by his father, said the royal commission was a “huge turning point” for an overburdened system in which “we have women dying, children being affected”.

“Band-Aid solutions are never really going to change anything,” Ms Batty said.

“It’s a very overburdened system and (it) needs huge change ... This is going to take decades.”

Some of the more ambitious recommendations include setting up the specialist courts within five years, and getting rid of communal refuges by 2020 in favour of different models of housing.

Family Violence Minister Fiona Richardson (left) with Ms Batty and Premier Daniel Andrews.

Domestic Violence Victoria chief executive Fiona McCormack said funding must match the government’s rhetoric.

“The success to which they (recommendations) are achieved will depend upon how they’re interpreted, how they’re implemented and how they’re resourced,” she said.

Mr Andrews conceded there would be a massive cost, but said funding to stop violence was an “investment”.

“This will be many hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. “(But) family violence is costing us at least $3.1 billion each year, 40 per cent of police work, and how do you put a price on a life lost?”

He did not rule out a tax or levy to help pay for the 227 reforms, but “that’ll be for the community to judge”.

The commission only spent $13.5 million of its $36 million budget and the government said the leftover $22.5 million would be used immediately.

“There will be funding in the Budget around a blitz in terms of housing,” Mr ­Andrews said.

“We will implement all recommendations of the royal commission ... we will also go further where necessary to keep people safe from this horrific crime.”

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the royal commission was “a watershed moment in not just our state but our nation in combating family violence”.

Ms Neave said family violence “has been going on for thousands of years” and there was “no silver bullet”.

“But the royal commission’s recommendations are aimed at dramatically reducing family violence and hopefully eliminating it in the long term,” she said.

POLICE

FIVE-hundred extra police officers are needed right now if the government has any chance of meeting the Royal Commission’s recommendations, the police union says.

And while frontline police will wear body cameras within 12 months, there is no program to store the data.

Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said police were “already behind the eight-ball” before it started adopting the Victoria Police recommendations, which include a family violence training centre, stronger investigation into offences and dedicated family violence teams similar to the traffic management unit.

“There’s going to be massive resource implications for Victoria Police,” Mr Iddles said.

“It takes six to eight month to train a police officer, if we don’t start the training tomorrow then I can’t see the government meeting some of the timelines.”

He called on Premier Daniel Andrews to make an interim announcement of at least 500 officers immediately just to plug the current gaps in the system, with family violence making up to 80 per cent of police work.

A further 500 officers would be needed within five years.

More than 200 front line members had already been taken off the streets in the past three years to build 32 family violence units across the state.

Using body-worn cameras to collect statements and evidence from family violence scenes raised concern, with no current program to store the data and a need to train all members who wear them.

“It’s about how you store the data, where are you going to store the data — there’s going to be massive amounts of data, so there’s a range of policy issues to be worked through,” Mr Iddles said.

And with no commitment yet from the government on added funding or resources for Victoria Police, Mr Iddles warned if they don’t come up with the cash, there won’t be results.

“We can’t draw these resources from what we’ve currently got,” he said.

“The government will have to fund the positions.”

While Victoria Police is not bound by the Andrews Government in adopting all the recommendations, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the organisation was “similarly committed” to the government in implementing the recommendations relating to its work.

“We note that there will be significant changes to the way we deliver our services in the family violence area,” he said.

“We are committed to working with the Government and our partners across the family violence sector to implement these recommendations, and to make our state a safer place for all victims of family violence.”

- Ashley Argoon

Take a stand for the victims.

HOUSING

A RADICAL proposal to put family violence perpetrators in public housing so women and children can remain in their own homes will be probed by the Andrews Government.

The controversial concept was floated to the Royal Commission into Family Violence as a means of keeping women and children in stable and familiar environments — backed by extra security measures.

A senior government source also pointed to the fact the concept would cost less than relocating several people from one family.

But any move to give taxpayer-funded housing to thugs is likely to cause massive controversy.

The commission report says the government priority should be the “urgent pressures on the accommodation system for women escaping family violence”, and the state should only investigate “the extent and nature of the demand for such accommodation”.

But it does recommend developing alternative accommodation for adolescents who use violence in the home, combined with therapy.

Commissioner Marcia Neave recommended as a priority a “housing blitz” to unclog family violence refuges and crisis housing for women and children victims.

A Housing Assistance Implementation Task Force would oversee the process, with an aim of reducing the maximum time victims spend in crisis accommodation to six weeks — a time frame that has blown out recently.

“These circumstances are exacerbating the harm caused by family violence and are undermining other efforts within the service system to help victims recover,” Ms Neave said.

“Once women and children who have experienced violence are housed in a safe place, they can begin to rebuild their lives.”

Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday revealed there would be a big pot of money in the State Budget next month to address crisis housing for women.

He said 1000 women languishing on waiting lists was unacceptable.

“This is not about saving money, this is about saving live. This is not a cost, it’s a profound investment,” he said.

It is understood the amount of money over the forward estimates to be spent on housing will be in the hundred of millions of dollars.

There will also be an expansion of flexible support packages for victims, allowing them to access an overall amount of money to spend on a variety of services such as housing.

Independent provider of homelessness services Launch Housing’s chief executive Tony Keenan said changes to flexible package funding and an injection of money to services was sorely needed.

“At the moment the current system can actually make things worse for families,” he said.

— Matt Johnston

Time for action.

COURTS

CHILD-friendly rooms, secure waiting rooms, and remote rooms from which victims can give evidence will be set up in a dozen specialist family violence courts around Victoria within five years.

And security at entry points to those magistrates’ courts will be boosted, to separate victims from their attackers.

Millions of dollars will have to be pumped into Legal Aid to support family violence survivors and perpetrators.

Under the reforms, specialist magistrates, prosecutors and support staff will be in place within two years.

The royal commission recommended that:

ALL family violence matters be heard in specialist courts within five years;

MAGISTRATES receive affidavits explaining a person’s history of family violence and other offending before applications for intervention orders are heard;

POLICE provide magistrates hearing family violence cases with a summary of related matters in the Children’s Court, the Family Court, and the Federal Circuit Court;

FORMS for those applying for family violence intervention orders be available online; and

ALL family violence, child protection and family law court orders be available on a single database.

To free up room in the Magistrates’ Court, the royal commission suggested fines and traffic infringements — a major part of the court’s current caseload — be dealt with in a separate jurisdiction.

The royal commission report also backed a pilot program of restorative justice, as an alternative to the current adversarial system.

“Restorative justice processes can provide opportunities for a victim to confront the perpetrator in a safe environment,” it said.

This would allow perpetrators to apologise and for both parties to decide what action should be taken.

Legal Aid family, youth and children’s law executive director Nicole Rich said the expansion of specialist family violence courts was an important move, but more resources were needed.

She said fewer than four in 10 people before the courts currently received Legal Aid.

The royal commission said police should refer all victims and perpetrators to Legal Aid before they went to court, which Ms Rich said would lead to a surge in demand for help.

The Law Institute of Victoria’s family violence portfolio chair, Caroline Counsel, backed the “incredibly ambitious” reforms, saying said the current justice system was too difficult for victims to navigate.

“What we are very solid about is the need for both victims and perpetrators to have representation when it matters most,” Ms Counsel said.

This would reduce the number of contested hearings and ensure both parties understood their legal positions.

Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said safe entry and exit points at courthouses were needed within a year.

Too many courts currently lacked proper security and screening, he said.

— Tom Minear

Kara Doyle was shot by her boyfriend Mehmet Torun while he was high on ice. Picture: Facebook

CHILD PROTECTION

A MORE robust child protection system is crucial to properly protect “silent victims” of family violence, the royal commission report says.

Currently, despite years of advocacy, the system fails children and young people, partly because of a focus on the safety and wellbeing of women.

“(Children) are rarely treated as victims in their own right” and their specific needs were often overlooked.

Child protection workers need a better understanding of family violence so they can assess and manage risk, greater collaboration with support services was needed.

Children should be named on family violence intervention orders and funding should go to specialist child-focused family violence workers at refuges and for therapeutic interventions. Where a case does not meet the threshold for protective services, children and young people should be referred to specialist services such as counselling.

Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre CEO Annette Gillespie welcomed the proposals.

“For too long children have been the forgotten victims of abuse in the home,” Ms Gillespie said.

“We know a significant number of children are witnessing and experiencing family violence. A recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that children are present in 61 per cent of family violence incidents.

“Even when they are not direct targets of abuse, family violence can have a devastating impact on children who witness violence in the home.

“Children living in homes where there is family violence are in an environment that is unpredictable and filled with tension and fear,” she said.

“The impact can be continuing and long-lasting.”

- Elissa Doherty

The family of Rekiah O’Donnell: Kerryn Robertson, Indiana, Jesse and step dad Struan Robertson,

VICTIMS

THE royal commission’s failure to recommend tougher penalties for perpetrators of family violence has infuriated victims and their families.

Victims had called for this in submissions to the inquiry.

Calls for a new offence of family violence were also not adopted.

Carla Gagliardi, who was bashed and nearly killed by her former fiance, Hugh Marshall, three days after he was served with an intervention order, said: “They should be getting maximum time in jail so people learn to never do it again.

“I think that when they think they get away with it, they go harder and harder.

“(And) as much as it (a longer sentence) may not be a deterrent, if the victim knows the offender has got extra years in jail, it’s peace for them,” she said.

The report also made little mention of intervention orders. Ms Gagliardi had wanted to see a minimum four-year jail term for an assault that breached such an order.

“They need to make an intervention order mean something,” she said.

But she did agree with phasing out communal refuges and expanding education about respectful relationships.

Jesse O’Donnell has been campaigning for Rekiah’s Law — tougher sentencing for killers with violent pasts — since his sister was shot dead by her ice-addict boyfriend.

He said the commission had touched on “nothing” he had argued for.

“In that sense, I feel we missed out,” he said.

“But, if I put on my wide-vision goggles ... I’m pretty happy with what they have recommended,” he said.

He hoped that the adoption of 227 recommendations would prevent much of the abuse he sought to condemn.

Mr O’Donnell welcomed an overhaul of courts, including the provision of secure waiting rooms and remote facilities.

Recalling the trial of his sister’s killer, he said: “It did get very awkward at times while waiting in the court.

“I was even pushed to the side by police once, because they were bringing him through. And he smiled at us.

“They brought him through the same corridor as us — I was absolutely appalled, and I wondered why they would put us through that.

“So I feel like that is a good step forward for victims.”

Mr O’Donnell said that most of all he was thankful for the opportunity to be heard, so that others like his sister would not become just a statistic.

“I’m humbled just to know we’ve been a part of this change,” he said.

Commissioner Marcia Neave praised victims of family violence for sharing their harrowing stories.

She highlighted the strength of families whose loved ones had been killed.

“It is extraordinary that, having suffered such loss, they had the courage and the generosity to help us in our work — to explain their sense of what happened and why, to point to the gaps and failings in systems’ responses, and to suggest possible ways of preventing further deaths,” she said.

— Elissa Doherty, Ashley Argoon

A memorial for Cathy Browning who was stabbed to death by her husband, Brian Robert Browning.

WHAT’S MISSING?

PROPOSALS for a specific crime of domestic violence and a register of dangerous domestic violence offenders were not adopted by the royal commission.

Nevertheless, both ideas remain on the table, government sources said.

Other suggestions not picked up by the inquiry report were for tougher sentencing and mandatory reporting of abuse cases by professionals such as GPs.

The report said the commission considered potential changes to offences and sentencing laws, such as a distinct offence of family violence and mandatory minimum sentences.

But new offences and sentencing laws were “symbolic” and would not lead to changes in practice, it said.

“Whatever laws we have will only be as effective as those who enforce, prosecute and apply them,” it said.

“Improving these practices — through education, training and embedding best practice and family violence expertise in courts — is likely to be more effective than simply creating new offences.”

The royal commission said while long prison terms were necessary for some perpetrators, evidence of the “limited effectiveness” of jail on deterring and rehabilitating offenders and in cutting crime showed how complex the problem was.

Advocates had submitted to the inquiry that making family violence a specific offence could take into account patterns of both physical and psychological abuse.

Other ideas floated in submissions that were not adopted included a revamp of Crime Stoppers to take reports of domestic abuse by family and friends and the abolition of 24-hour liquor licences.

— Elissa Doherty