Who is leading the change
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Justice and Community Safety
The Victorian Government amend sections 57 and 96 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) to:
- require magistrates to give an applicant, and a respondent if the respondent appears before the court, an explanation of how a family violence intervention order interacts with any existing or new Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) order or an order under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic). This explanation should be given on the making of both an interim family violence intervention order and a final family violence intervention order
- if the court has varied, suspended, revoked or revived a Family Law Act order, require magistrates to explain the purpose, terms and effect on the family violence intervention order
- permit the court to request that the legal practitioner provide the requisite explanations when a person to whom the family violence intervention order is directed is legally represented
- if the parties do not appear before a magistrate, require the relevant court registrar to provide information in writing on the interaction between either an interim or final family violence intervention order and any applicable orders under the Family Law Act o the Children, Youth and Families Act
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As part of our approach, the Department of Justice and Regulation (DJR) developed legislative amendments to address recommendations 22, 30(a), 57, 72, 75, 76, 78, 132, 138 and 150 for inclusion in the Family Violence Protection Amendment Act 2017. In doing so DJR consulted stakeholders, including seeking feedback on the draft Bill to identify any outstanding technical or policy issues.
Stakeholders consulted during this process included representatives across government and non-government organisations within the specialist family violence, justice, children and families, and legal services sectors as well as various committees. For example, the Chief Magistrate’s Family Violence Taskforce, the Family Violence Steering Committee, the Judicial Advisory Group on Family Violence, the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council, and the LGBTI Justice Working Group.
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The Family Violence Protection Amendment Act 2017 was introduced into Parliament on 7 March 2017 and passed on 10 May 2017.
The amendments implementing recommendation 132 came into effect on 29 March 2018.
- Implemented.
Reviewed 17 May 2020