Victorian Labor has promised to legislate two new offences targeting family violence perpetrators if it wins the next state election, alongside a pledge to lift the maximum penalty for rape to life imprisonment. Premier Ben Carroll said the changes were designed to close what the government describes as “loopholes” that have allowed some perpetrators to avoid serious criminal consequences.
What is being promised #
According to the announcement, a re-elected Labor government would introduce a new form of manslaughter covering circumstances in which a person takes their own life as a result of family violence perpetrated against them. It would also create a separate offence covering a person who abandons a victim in need of medical care, which the government says would be an Australian first.
Mr Carroll said in the announcement that the current law did not adequately capture the harm caused in cases where a victim dies by suicide after sustained family violence, or where an injured victim is left without help. VCN understands the proposed offences would sit alongside, rather than replace, existing charges such as recklessly causing serious injury and existing manslaughter provisions.
The government has also flagged an increase to the maximum penalty for rape, lifting it to life imprisonment. Under current Victorian sentencing law, rape carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment, or life imprisonment in cases prosecuted as a compilation of multiple serious sexual offences in some circumstances. Any change to the standard maximum would need to pass through the Victorian Parliament and would apply prospectively to offences committed after the law takes effect.
Why the government says the law needs to change #
Victoria Police and the Coroners Court have both previously highlighted cases in which family violence has preceded a victim’s suicide, but where existing homicide laws have not applied because there was no direct physical act causing death. Legal experts have long debated whether the criminal law should extend liability to perpetrators in these circumstances, given the difficulty of establishing causation between abusive conduct and a later death.
The proposed abandonment offence appears aimed at cases where an injured person is left without medical assistance following a family violence incident, a scenario that has arisen in coronial inquests and criminal trials reported on by VCN and other Victorian outlets. Under the announcement, VCN understands the new offence would apply where a perpetrator knowingly leaves a victim in a state requiring urgent care.
The government has not yet released draft legislation, and the precise elements of either offence — including what prosecutors would need to prove, and what defences might be available — have not been detailed publicly. Any new offence of this kind would ordinarily be examined by the Victorian Law Reform Commission or subject to expert consultation before being introduced to Parliament, though the government has not confirmed whether that process will occur here.
How this fits with existing family violence law #
Victoria’s family violence framework is built around a mix of criminal offences and civil protections. The Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) allows courts to make intervention orders restricting a person’s contact with a victim, while breaches of those orders are themselves criminal offences. Separately, the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) sets out offences including assault, stalking and various forms of homicide.
Family violence has been a stated priority of successive Victorian governments since the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, which made 227 recommendations following extensive evidence about system failures. Many of those recommendations have already been implemented, including the creation of the Orange Door support and safety hubs and specialist family violence courts. The government’s latest announcement suggests it sees remaining gaps in the criminal law itself, rather than in service delivery.
It is understood the new offences would be drafted to operate within Victoria’s existing sentencing framework, meaning any conviction would still be subject to standard appeal rights and sentencing guidelines set by the Court of Appeal and the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.
What happens next #
As an election commitment, the proposed offences would require Labor to win government and then introduce a bill to Parliament, where it would need to pass both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. VCN understands no bill has yet been drafted, and no timeline has been given for when legislation might be introduced if the government is returned.
Opposition parties and legal advocacy groups are likely to be given an opportunity to respond once further detail is released. Community legal centres and family violence sector bodies have previously called for caution in criminalising new categories of conduct, cautioning that overly broad offences can be difficult to prosecute and may have unintended consequences for victim-survivors who are misidentified as perpetrators in complex family violence dynamics. VCN has not yet sought comment from Victoria’s peak family violence bodies on this specific proposal.
We will continue to report on this policy as further detail, including any draft legislation or explanatory material, becomes publicly available.
Understanding the broader system #
For readers unfamiliar with how family violence matters move through the Victorian system, it is worth noting the distinction between criminal proceedings, which can result in charges and potential imprisonment, and civil intervention order proceedings, which are designed to protect a person from future harm rather than punish past conduct. The two can run in parallel, and a person can be the subject of both an intervention order and separate criminal charges arising from the same conduct.
Victoria Police has previously said family violence remains one of the most frequently reported categories of crime in the state, with officers attending tens of thousands of family violence incidents each year. Any new offence would ultimately need to be applied by police, prosecuted by the Office of Public Prosecutions, and tested before Victorian courts, meaning the practical effect of these reforms will not be clear until they are used in real cases.
This is a developing policy announcement and not a report on any specific criminal matter. No individual has been charged in connection with this story.
Support is available. If you or someone you know is affected by family violence, help is available 24/7 through Safe Steps on 1800 015 188, or 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. For sexual assault support, contact the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292. If you are experiencing distress, Lifeline is available on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers can contact 13YARN on 13 92 76. If you have information about a crime, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. In an emergency, always call 000.
