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Parliament to vote on laws to fix Victoria Police swearing-in blunder

Laws to address an administrative blunder that caused the swearing in of more than 1000 Victoria Police officers to be invalid will be introduced to parliament.

Retrospective laws to address the invalid swearing in of more than 1000 Victoria Police officers will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday.

An administrative blunder, revealed last month, created by legislative changes in 2014 meant that 1262 officers, PSOs and police custody officers had been wrongly sworn in.

The shocking discovery has raised concerns that thousands of criminals whose cases were handled by these Victoria Police workers could have their convictions quashed.

In response, mass swearing-in sessions were held online and the Andrews government promised to introduce backdated legislation by this sitting week.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes says the Bill will be urgent. Picture: David Geraghty
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes says the Bill will be urgent. Picture: David Geraghty

Opposition and crossbench MPs were on Monday night briefed on the changes and it is expected they will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday morning.

The Liberals will hold a partyroom meeting before parliament resumes but the laws are not expected to be opposed unless significant issues are found.

“As leader of the House in the upper house, I will ensure that I deal with that legislation as a matter of urgency,” Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said.

“It will be declared an urgent Bill. I understand there is bipartisan support for it so we anticipate to conclude that this week.”

Opposition emergency services spokesman Brad Battin said the Coalition remained committed to making sure police were shielded from being sued over the bungle.

“All I want to do is ensure Victoria Police officers are protected,” he said.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/parliament-to-vote-on-laws-to-fix-victoria-police-swearingin-blunder/news-story/2e41a51d0c5b2735bec929fb1de08bce