Recommendations
Recommendation 1
4.28 The committee recommends that the term 'economic
abuse' is included as a form of family violence in subsection 4AB(2) of
the Family Law Act 1975, and the subsection provide a non-exhaustive
list of examples of economic abuse, including dowry abuse.
Recommendation 2
4..51 The committee
recommends that the Australian government work with the states and territories
to harmonise existing legislation providing for intervention/violence orders to
explicitly recognise dowry abuse as an example of family violence or economic
abuse.
Recommendation 3
4.54 The committee recommends
that the Australian government give further consideration to legal and decision
making frameworks to ensure that victims of dowry abuse are not disadvantaged
in family law property settlements, given the community concerns about
inconsistent approaches under the current family law framework.
Recommendation 4
5.31 The committee recommends that the Australian
government:
- give further consideration to the recommendation of the
Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence to broaden the definition of
family violence in the Migration Regulations 1994; and
- ensure that those who are forced to marry their partner or
experience family violence from their partner and/or their partner’s family
members are protected through the family violence provisions in the Migration
Regulations 1994, such that the regulatory framework is consistent with the
policy intention to protect victims of domestic or family violence within the migration
context.
Recommendation 5
5.67 The committee recommends that the Australian
government act to address the injustice whereby family violence protection is
not available to victims on many temporary visas and consider:
- extending the family violence provisions in the Migration
Regulations 1994 beyond temporary Partner visa holders, Prospective Marriage
visa holders who have married their sponsor and dependent applicants for a
Distinguished Talent visa, to apply to other family visa subclasses; and
- the creation of a temporary visa—for example a 'Woman at Risk
in Australia' visa—to be available for non-family temporary visa holders who
have suffered serious and proven family violence including dowry abuse.
Recommendation 6
5.71 The committee recommends that the Australian
government ensure decision makers consider the nature of alleged family
violence when making an assessment on whether the relationship was genuine prior
to it ending.
Recommendation 7
5.76 The committee recommends that the Australian
government consider innovative use of the sponsorship mechanism and the new
family sponsorship framework to prevent previous perpetrators from sponsoring
multiple spouses, and by requiring sponsors to provide disclosures and give
undertakings in relation to their circumstances and to dowry.
5.77 The committee also recommends that the Australian
government look explicitly at ensuring that the work of the Department of Home
Affairs is included in National Family Violence Prevention Strategies, not just
from the point of view of access to visas, but also visa processing and
assessment.
Recommendation 8
6.27 The committee recommends that the Australian
government, together with state and territory governments, work with culturally
and linguistically diverse communities and service providers in order to determine
ways in which to establish a firm evidence base on the incidence of dowry
abuse.
Recommendation 9
6.30 The committee recommends that the Australian
government work with the States and Territories to improve and strengthen the
governance of data collection practices and standards by implementing a system
to capture and measure the extent and incidence of all forms of family violence
in Australia, including dowry abuse as a form of economic abuse.
Recommendation 10
6.63 The committee recommends the Department of Social
Services Family Safety Pack is provided individually to all visa applicants in
their first language, such as during the health examination required as a
condition of their visa application.
Recommendation 11
6.67 The committee
recommends that the Australian, state and territory governments engage with
stakeholders in order to develop ongoing education and awareness raising
campaigns about family violence, including dowry abuse, in conjunction with the
development of further training of frontline professionals including social
workers, police, doctors, judges and decision makers in the Department of Home
Affairs.
Recommendation 12
6.68 The committee recommends that the Australian
government include dowry abuse as a possible indicator of exploitation for the
purposes of divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 and
ensure that this is included in any training programs.
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