Australian Greens Additional Comments

1.1The Greens welcome the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024, which seeks to strengthen protections for victim-survivors of sexual violence. However, much more is needed to make the criminal justice system safe for victim-survivors.

1.2The Greens agree with Women’s Legal Services Australia that:

…the failure to provide adequate protections and safeguards for complainants and witnesses, particularly during cross-examination, is a significant barrier to victim‑survivors reporting sexual, domestic, and family violence and abuse, and engaging in criminal legal processes.[1]

We believe that the bill should be further amended to completely ban personal cross-examination of a victim-survivor by the accused. In 2019, the Family Law Act 1975 was amended to ban direct cross‑examination and it is time the same protection was afforded to victim‑survivors of sexual violence.

1.3We understand that the government is currently conducting a scoping study with respect to a potential Commonwealth witness intermediary scheme to support ‘ground rules’ hearings to enable victim-survivors to give their best evidence. The Greens join Full Stop Australia, Sexual Assault Services Victoria, Embolden and Women’s Legal Services Australia in support of the government establishing a properly funded intermediary scheme and ground rules hearings.

1.4The reforms in this bill are important, but if they are to help dismantle Australia’s culture of sexual violence, they must be backed by additional government investment in frontline services and legal assistance. This includes investment in independent legal representation for sexual assault complaints in criminal trials, an intermediary scheme, sexual assault services, and other supports for victim-survivors engaged in the criminal justice system.

Senator Larissa Waters

Greens Senator for Queensland

Footnotes

[1]Women’s Legal Services Australia, Submission 29, p. 12.