Legal, community and family safety organisations want Victoria’s fifteenth Specialist Family Violence Court and next Victoria Legal Aid office to be funded in the North East.
A stakeholders’ advisory panel convened by Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell MP, Hume Riverina Community Legal Service and the Centre Against Violence has today sent a $29.5 million proposal to Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes and Family Violence Prevention Minister Ros Spence for consideration.
Wangaratta, Wodonga and Indigo councils, Gateway Health, Women’s Centre for Health and Wellbeing Albury-Wodonga and victim survivors also contributed strongly, joining the convenors in a roundtable in Wangaratta four weeks ago to define the need and build the case for these services.
The panel says persistent high levels of family incidents recorded by Victoria Police and other agencies in recent years inform the need for specialist court and legal aid services in a region that’s home to 140,000 people.
Crime Statistics Agency data to June 30 shows the number of family incidents exceeded the state average by 82.1pc in Benalla, in 52.3pc in Wodonga and 50.2pc in Wangaratta in the year to June 30.
Compared with an average 1373.5 family incidents among every 100,000 Victorians for the period, police and other agencies recorded 2501 incidents in Benalla, 2063 in Wangaratta and 2092 in Wodonga.
In 2016 Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended the establishment of ‘headquarter courts’ to deal with family incident and violence cases. The state government identified 14 locations for these specialist family violence courts.
The advisory panel wants court 15 to provide services for North East families, victim survivors and perpetrators.
Ms Maxwell also sought a Parliamentary Budget Office costing for the proposal. The PBO estimates a specialist court would cost the government $19.8m, and the legal aid office $9.7m, in financial years 2023-2026.
Tania Maxwell MP, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria –
“The panel has set out a compelling case for the new court and legal aid office in a proposal that I’m sending today to Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes and Family Violence Prevention Minister Ros Spence.
“I put a motion to Parliament on August 4 calling on the state government to invest in these services here in the North East. Ten weeks later, thanks to generous collaboration across our communities, our advisory panel is putting a costed proposal to the responsible Victorian ministers.
“It sets out the key reasons why a specialist family violence court is sorely needed in the North East.
“These include increasing safety for victim survivors, ensuring better support for them at court, providing magistrates with different powers to act, requiring a higher level of perpetrator accountability, delivering targeted support for them, and raising awareness about family violence and its impact, with a strong message to the community that family violence is being seriously addressed.”
Centre Against Violence chief executive officer Jaime Chubb –
“We understand the importance of ensuring that systems and services that are in place to protect and support people don’t actually add to the trauma, shame and stigmatisation that victim survivors experience. Specialised legal processes and services would prevent this and lead to safer, more effective and more just outcomes for everyone.
“The development of the states 15th specialist family violence court in our region would align to the new national plan to eradicate gender-based violence that was released on Monday. Prevention, system enhancement, and trauma informed services were all prioritised in the plan.
“We look forward to understanding what can be achieved in our region by working with the government to address the gap that currently exists for victim survivors.”
Alana Pund, Gateway Health general manager health and wellbeing –
As a regional community health service, Gateway Health often witnesses the impacts of delayed response to family violence first hand. The delayed response has a significant impact on the lives of families, and many families continue to experience family violence harm while they wait for justice to be served through the court system.
A Magistrate Court crime examination measured the trends in family violence across our region by the number of victim survivors (affected family members). The statistics show an increase of 18.42 per cent from 2016 to 2021, compared with Goulburn which saw a smaller increase of 4.78pc over the same period. This demonstrates a rapidly growing need in our area. This demand is also reflected in current waitlists and response times in the current court systems.
A specialist court will provide important services for our region. Enhanced presence of the justice system in the local area will send a strong message to the community that legal rights matter, and that family violence is being addressed seriously. It will also contribute to awareness around family violence and how people experiencing family violence can seek support.
Rural City of Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees –
“The Rural City of Wangaratta continues to be affected by high levels of family violence.
“There are many initiatives that the community, government and not-for-profit sectors are undertaking to address this, and there is strong resolve across the municipality to reduce instances of family violence.
“In any way they are interpreted, family violence statistics are shocking. Unfortunately, our Council statistics are well above the Victorian average, and our neighbouring local government areas are in the same grim situation.
“More needs to be done to reduce family violence, and more needs to be done to protect and support victims and survivors.
“The Rural City of Wangaratta supports the development of a specialist family violence court for north east Victoria in line with the recommendations of the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence, and our community’s need for appropriate resources to better manage, and reduce family violence incidents.
City of Wodonga deputy mayor Graeme Simpfendorfer –
“The data makes this proposal stack up.
“Those in our North East communities who have been through some of the horrible nature of physical and emotional abuse through family violence need a Specialist Family Violence Court and Victoria Legal Aid office.
“I strongly advocate for these services on behalf of our communities.”
Indigo Shire councillor Sophie Price –
“Unfortunately our region has very high rates of family violence compared with the state average and the nearest Specialist Family Violence Court for the community to access is Shepparton, which is not in any way appropriate.
“We’ve identified a gap that shows our communities are receiving an inferior service and that’s why we’re asking for Specialist Family Violence Court for North East Victoria.”
“The Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended 14 Headquarter Courts, and what we’re saying is, make us court number 15. The need is well established.”
Hume Riverina Community Legal Service acting principal Alison Maher –
“I thank everyone for the collaborative effort producing the submission.
“Each organisation brought their own lens to the submission, through their experience and knowledge of the devastating impacts of family violence, and this has created a persuasive case for the Victorian government to consider seriously.
“In addition to a specialist family violence court being established locally, a Victoria Legal Aid office would be a vital inclusion to our region to meet the need for legal assistance, not only within the new court, but also to address the growing demands for free legal services.
“Our Hume Riverina Community Legal Service is stretched to the limit already, with client turnaways exceeding our capacity in the last financial year.
“We are one of the few regional areas without a Victoria Legal Aid office, and this would bring huge benefits for people needing legal advice, and ease the burden on existing services.”
View the Advisory panel Court 15 proposal
