In April last year, the Government requested the SAC’s advice on various aspects of the implementation of the Coalition’s election commitment to introduce baseline sentences, under which Parliament will specify the median non-parole period that courts must use in sentencing offenders for a range of serious crimes.

The matters SAC was asked to advise on included:
- the levels of baseline sentences that should be legislated for various offences;
- whether additional offences should have baseline sentences specified;
- whether different baseline sentences for an offence should apply in certain circumstances; and
- how baseline sentences should apply in cases involving multiple offences.

The report, released today by the SAC, recommends that:
- baseline sentences should be based on an offence that represents the middle of the range of seriousness for offences that incur imprisonment, not taking into account any discount for a guilty plea or assistance to authorities, or factors personal to the offender;
- a baseline sentence level only apply where a court imposes a prison sentence and fixes a non-parole period;
- there be only one baseline level for each offence and that redefinition of offences is not necessary;
- baseline sentences be the starting point for sentencing and then be adjusted for offence factors, offender factors and discounts for guilty pleas or assistance to authorities;
- baseline sentences not apply to cases heard summarily, to juvenile offenders or to young adult offenders sentenced to youth justice centres; and
- baseline sentences should also apply to culpable and dangerous driving causing death, kidnapping and the Government’s new gross violence offences, but should not apply to incitement, conspiracy and attempt offences.

The SAC has also recommended baseline sentence levels for the various offences to be covered, based on the Council’s proposed definition of a baseline sentence.

Attorney-General Robert Clark has welcomed the SAC report.

“The SAC has produced a comprehensive and detailed report which provides valuable discussion, analysis and advice on many aspects of the implementation of the Coalition’s election commitment,” Mr Clark said.

“The SAC’s recommendation that there be stronger penalties for sexual offences against young children reflects a widespread concern that sentences for a number of serious offences are currently inadequate.

“The Government agrees with the SAC’s recommendations that the baseline sentencing regime should apply to culpable and dangerous driving causing death, kidnapping and the Government’s new gross violence offences, but should not apply to juvenile offenders.

“The Government also accepts the SAC’s assessment and recommendations that redefinition of offences is not required to introduce baseline sentencing and that only one baseline sentence level is required for each offence to be covered.

“The Government will give further consideration to the remainder of the SAC’s recommendations, including the manner of defining baseline sentences and any implications that may have for baseline sentence levels,” Mr Clark said.

Legislation to introduce baseline sentencing will be prepared for introduction into Parliament next year.

Attorney-General Robert Clark said Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) would receive $107 million over the next four years to help Victorians obtain legal advice and assistance.

“Despite growing numbers of Victorians in need of legal help, the previous government provided VLA with only short-term funding top-ups,” Mr Clark said.

“This Budget provides VLA with an ongoing addition to its base funding of more than $26 million a year, enabling VLA to plan for the future with confidence that its State Government Budget funding base is secure.

“This funding comes on top of the Coalition Government’s commitment of ongoing funding for Community Legal Centres in last year’s Budget, which allowed CLCs to continue to help regional Victorians and Victorians involved in family violence matters – help that CLCs would have been forced to cease providing under Labor’s lapsing funding.

“It is now up to the Gillard Government to end its cost-shifting and contribute its fair share to legal aid in next week’s Commonwealth budget,” Mr Clark said.

The Coalition Government has also allocated $50.4 million over four years so the justice system can better protect vulnerable children and families.

This funding responds to recommendations of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry. It includes $20.8 million over four years to expand the availability of New Model Conferencing, which enables the protection of children to be resolved through collaborative, child-centred approaches that minimise the need to go to court.

A further $17.1 million in recurrent and capital funding has been allocated for a new children’s court facility at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court. This facility will reduce demand on the Melbourne Children’s Court, allowing more matters to be heard at locations convenient for the children and families involved.

Dispute resolution services will receive ongoing funding totalling $20.4 million over four years. This funding fills yet another lapsing program gap left by the previous government, and will allow mediation of intervention order applications and various Magistrates’ Court civil claims to continue.

The Government has also allocated ongoing funding totalling $4.1 million over four years to support the provision of language services in the justice system for Victorians of non-English speaking language backgrounds.

Further ongoing funding totalling $3.2 million over four years has been allocated to support the continuation of reforms introduced in the Court of Appeal to reduce delays in criminal appeals. These reforms to date have achieved a substantial reduction in the number of pending criminal appeals.

Mr Clark said despite the current challenging budgetary situation, the Government was committed to supporting the vital work of the courts and other institutions of justice in protecting Victorians and upholding the law.

“Victoria’s challenges are real and they are serious, but the Coalition Government is taking a responsible and necessary approach to enhancing frontline services, and taking new measures to protect the most vulnerable Victorians,” Mr Clark said.

The increased sentences will apply to offenders who attack workers including police, ambulance officers, fire-fighters, protective services officers, SES workers or lifesavers, as well as nurses, doctors or other staff in hospital emergency departments.

“People who inflict serious injuries on police or emergency workers will be jailed for an additional 12 months, on top of whatever sentence would otherwise apply,” Mr Clark said.

Assaults causing less serious injuries will attract at least six months’ imprisonment, and those convicted of murdering a police officer or emergency worker will face an additional five years in jail.

Each additional penalty will form part of the offender’s minimum non-parole period in addition to the sentence the court would otherwise impose, and will apply save in narrowly defined exceptional circumstances, such as serious mental illness.

“Victorians are fortunate that we have many dedicated police officers, front line medical personnel and other emergency workers who devote their careers or hours of unpaid voluntary time to helping others,” Mr Clark said.

“When police and emergency workers are on duty, they are working to serve the community. An attack on a police officer or emergency worker is an attack on our whole community. Police and emergency workers deserve the community’s protection and support against such attacks.

“The sentences applying to the existing offences of assaulting a police officer in the due execution of duty or assaulting an ambulance officer providing or attempting to provide care or treatment are woefully inadequate.

“These offences only set maximum penalties, and at present only a small proportion of offenders actually end up in jail. Under our reforms, save in narrowly defined exceptional circumstances, anyone who attacks and injures a police officer or emergency worker will go to jail.

“The Victorian Coalition Government believes that everyone deserves the right to be as safe as possible when they go to work, especially those who willingly face the most dangerous situations including drug and alcohol-fuelled violence,” Mr Clark said.

Both the Police Association and the ambulance union have previously called for greater protection for their members from attacks and violence.

These reforms add to the Coalition’s commitment to ensure stronger and more effective sentencing, alongside the abolition of suspended sentences, four year statutory minimum terms for gross violence, and baseline sentences for serious crimes.

Minister for Finance Robert Clark, in conjunction with the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Consumer Affairs, announced that the Government is seeking feedback from consumers, builders and other interested parties on both the current system and reform options.

The paper describes and examines the current framework of general consumer protection laws, builder registration systems, building-specific regulations, dispute resolution and limited mandatory insurance, and sets out a range of possible reform options.

Areas listed for possible reform include:

early dispute resolution
the information available to consumers, builders, regulators and insurers
insurance arrangements
legal remedies, inspections and disciplinary actions.
The paper also presents and discusses a wide variety of possible insurance models covering:

mandatory last resort insurance (the current Victorian scheme)
mandatory first resort insurance
voluntary insurance
professional indemnity insurance attached to builders rather than projects.
“While most domestic building projects in Victoria are completed well, there have been far too many cases where the system put in place by the previous government has failed to properly protect consumers against poor workmanship and shonky operators,” Mr Clark said.

“The domestic building construction industry contributes significantly to the Victorian economy and comprises around 6.5 percent of Victoria’s gross state product.

“It is important that consumer protection is as practical, effective, timely and affordable as possible, and that honest and capable builders know their reputation and livelihood will not be put at risk by the failings of a minority,” Mr Clark said.

The consultation and feedback on the discussion paper will be a key input into the Government’s decisions on reform options.

The consultation paper and further information on the submission process are available at www.dtf.vic.gov.au. Submissions will be open until 29 June 2012.

Mr Clark congratulated Mr Holt and Mr Gardner on their appointments, which will add further valuable expertise to the Commission’s capacity to provide expert advice on law reform in Victoria, particularly on matters involving criminal law.

Mr Holt is Director of Criminal Law/Senior Public Defender with Victoria Legal Aid, a position he has held since 2009.

He has previously been a Senior Legal Policy Officer in the Department of Justice, working primarily on the development of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, and a Crown Prosecutor and Senior Crown Prosecutor in New Zealand.

Mr Gardner has had 30 years’ experience in the Crown Solicitor’s Office and the Office of Public Prosecutions.

Since 1994, Mr Gardner has held a range of policy-related positions, and since 2008 has been the Directorate Manager, Policy and Advice Directorate. In these roles, Mr Gardner has developed extensive experience and expertise in relation to legal policy and law reform proposals

“Mr Holt and Mr Gardner bring with them outstanding skills and experience which will greatly assist the Commission in carrying out its important functions,” Mr Clark said.

The Commission was asked by the previous Government in June 2009 to review and report on all aspects of guardianship and administration law in Victoria.

The Commission’s comprehensive report makes 440 recommendations, including:

• creating a new Guardianship Act to provide for supported decision making and set out general principles for substitute decision making;

• facilitating greater use of personal appointments of supported and substitute decision makers, so that the Public Advocate can remain a guardian of last resort;

• giving the Public Advocate greater powers to investigate and protect individuals from abuse; and

• reforming VCAT procedures to expedite urgent matters and resolve matters outside of formal hearings where possible.

The Attorney-General, Robert Clark, said the report highlighted the need for change to current laws providing for people with impaired decision-making capacity.

“The report rightly recognises that decision-making capacity is not an all-or-nothing concept. People with impaired decision-making capacity may be fully capable of making some types of decision themselves, while needing various levels of help with other decisions and activities.

“The report also recognises that impaired decision-making capacity can have many causes, including intellectual disabilities from birth, acquired brain injuries, mental illness and impairments associated with ageing. Some of these impairments are temporary, some are on-going, and some can vary in nature and extent over time.

“The law needs to make provision for this wide range of circumstances, and do so in the context of an ageing population and in a way that provides the widest possible scope and support for people to make their own decisions where possible, encourages and empowers the involvement of supportive family and friends, and protects against abuse and exploitation.

“The Coalition Government intends to draw on the report’s recommendations, together with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Law Reform Committee’s 2010 report on Powers of Attorney, giving priority to reforms that will make it easier for individuals and their families to provide for their current and future needs, while strengthening and enhancing the last-resort and protective roles of VCAT and the Office of Public Advocate.”

Mr Clark thanked all members and staff of the VLRC involved in the report for the expertise, dedication and commitment they have given to the project.

The inquiry will have broad terms of reference to consider the practices, policies and protocols of religious and other non-government organisations for the handling of allegations of criminal abuse of children by personnel within their organisations.

The inquiry will also have the power to assess any measures put in place to respond to alleged abuse and to make any necessary recommendations for changes to the law or to relevant policies and practices.

A focus of the inquiry will be on identifying reforms that can and should be put in place to better protect children and ensure that instances of abuse are responded to properly and effectively. In doing so, the inquiry will have the power to consider evidence of past policies, practices and abuse.

The Government has decided to establish the inquiry after giving careful consideration to the report and recommendations of the Cummins Inquiry and to the material put before it by many individuals and groups.

It is clear that there have been a substantial number of established complaints of sexual abuse of children by those who have taken advantage of positions of authority. This abuse has had traumatic consequences for victims and their families.

While the investigation and prosecution of individual cases of abuse are matters for the police and the courts, the broader and systemic implications of this abuse need to be investigated to ensure that everything possible is done to protect children.

The inquiry will be conducted by the bipartisan Family and Community Development Committee of Parliament. It will have powers to compel witnesses to attend and give evidence and to summons documents necessary for its deliberations.

All evidence and proceedings will be subject to Parliamentary privilege, and the inquiry will be able to take evidence in private hearings where it considers it appropriate in the interests of victims or for other reasons.

The Government has concluded that a Parliamentary inquiry is the most appropriate form for the inquiry to take. A Parliamentary inquiry will be able to proceed in a less formal and legalistic manner than a Royal Commission, and with no expectation that persons giving evidence will be required to have legal representation.

The Government extends its appreciation to the many individuals and organisations who have contacted the Government and provided accounts of their experiences. The Government also welcomes recent commitments by senior church figures to co-operate with an inquiry.

The terms of reference for the inquiry were approved by the Governor in Council earlier today and are set out below.

—————-
TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Family and Community Development Committee is requested to inquire into, consider and report to the Parliament on the processes by which religious and other non-government organisations respond to the criminal abuse of children by personnel within their organisations, including:

1. the practices, policies and protocols in such organisations for the handling of allegations of criminal abuse of children, including measures put in place by various organisations in response to concerns about such abuse within the organisation or the potential for such abuse to occur;

2. whether there are systemic practices in such organisations that operate to preclude or discourage the reporting of suspected criminal abuse of children to State authorities; and

3. whether changes to law or to practices, policies and protocols in such organisations are required to help prevent criminal abuse of children by personnel in such organisations and to deal with allegations of such abuse.

In undertaking the inquiry, the Committee should be mindful of not encroaching upon the responsibilities of investigatory agencies or the courts in relation to particular cases or prejudicing the conduct or outcome of investigations or court proceedings.

The Committee is requested to report to the Parliament no later than 30 April 2013.

These new Guidelines will help to make vital infrastructure projects more affordable, leading to greater investment and employment opportunities for Victorians.

Premier Ted Baillieu and Minister for Finance Robert Clark said the new Guidelines would improve compliance with workplace laws, promote productivity and help prevent the sorts of massive cost blowouts that characterised Victorian Government projects under the former Labor Government.

The Guidelines, which have been finalised following public release of draft guidelines last October and extensive stakeholder consultation, will assist the construction industry to achieve behavioural change on Victorian building sites.

The Guidelines will apply to all construction projects funded by the Victorian public sector that are the subject of an expression of interest or request for tender on or after 1 July 2012.

The need for stronger Guidelines in Victoria is greater than ever before, given the Gillard Labor Government’s recent decisions to substantially weaken its own National Guidelines and abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

The enhanced Guidelines will:

- apply to all on-site public building and construction work undertaken in Victoria;
- be binding on contractors in relation to their future privately-funded work;
- prohibit parties entering into sham contracting arrangements or arrangements designed to avoid strike pay, right of entry or freedom of association obligations;
- prohibit coercion or pressure to make over-award payments;
- require tenderers for projects where the Victorian public sector contribution is above a threshold level to submit detailed plans which identify their approach to various matters including workplace safety, dispute resolution, response to industrial action, right of entry, management of subcontractors and communication and consultation with the workforce;
- require contractors to take all reasonable steps to bring any unlawful industrial action to an end, including by pursuing legal action where possible;
- identify practices that are inconsistent with freedom of association and require contractors to adopt policies to promote the right to join or not join a union; and
- impose criteria for the establishment of project agreements on sites in line with the National Guidelines.

The new Guidelines will be monitored by a new Construction Code Compliance Unit in the Department of Treasury and Finance, headed by newly-appointed Director, Mr Nigel Hadgkiss, who has previously been the Deputy Commissioner to the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner.

The Victorian Government will lead by example in requiring appropriate workplace arrangements and practices when it selects firms for Government contracts.

Implementing these new guidelines will help the building and construction industry not only to achieve behavioural change but also to improve productivity and safety on Victorian worksites.

The guidelines can be viewed at: www.dtf.vic.gov.au/CA25713E0002EF43/pages/dtf-projects-victorian-code-of-practice-for-the-building-and-construction-industry.

The Government is strongly committed to the principles of human rights and considers that legislative protection for those rights provides a tangible benefit to the Victorian community.

“The reforms we are announcing today will reinforce the ability of Victorians to have their rights respected and upheld by government departments and agencies, and strengthen Parliamentary scrutiny of proposed legislation for compatibility with rights,” Premier Ted Baillieu said.

“We will introduce legislation to improve Parliamentary scrutiny through allowing either House of Parliament to require a Minister or other MP proposing major amendments to Bills to table a statement of compatibility explaining whether and how those amendments have an effect on rights. At present, there is no such scrutiny mechanism.

“The Government will also support agencies that do not already have internal complaints procedures for addressing complaints about breaches of rights to introduce such procedures,” Mr Baillieu said.

Attorney-General Robert Clark said the Government believed there was an ongoing place for the courts in protecting rights in relation to the Charter, but acknowledged the concerns raised by SARC as to the role of the courts and the obligations of public authorities.

“At the time SARC was finalising its report, and subsequently, there have been major court decisions handed down in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal about the operation of the Charter Act in the courts,” Mr Clark said.

“There has been limited opportunity to observe the practical effect of those decisions on the various roles of the courts and VCAT in relation to the Charter.

“The Government will therefore seek specific legal advice in relation to these issues, as well as in relation to the risks and benefits of SARC’s proposals for the possible inclusion in the Charter of additional rights from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“In assessing these matters we will also be consulting with key stakeholders involved with the legal aspects of the Charter Act’s operation, including the Bar Council, Law Institute of Victoria, Victoria Legal Aid, DPP, Victoria Police, the Public Interest Law Clearing House and the Human Rights Law Centre,” Mr Clark said.

“The Government thanks all members of SARC for the detailed and careful consideration they have given to the issues involved, and for their thorough and comprehensive report,” Mr Baillieu said.

“SARC’s report and today’s Government response lay the basis for ensuring that Victorians’ rights are recognised and respected whenever new laws are being proposed in the Parliament and are upheld in all dealings Victorians may have with the State Government or its agencies.”

Mr Clark said Mr Radford is the founder and principal of Radford Legal and brings over 20 years of legal experience to the position.

“Mr Radford was admitted to practise in the Supreme Courts of NSW in 1989 and Victoria in 1990,” Mr Clark said.

“He was later appointed Litigation Partner at Lewis Walker in Melbourne where he practised in commercial law and insurance litigation.

“Mr Radford established his own practice, Radford Legal, in 1997. His firm provides advice to clients in and around towns including Donald, Wedderburn, Stawell and St Arnaud, and also has an office in Melbourne.

“Mr Radford brings to the Magistrates’ Court experience in advising and representing clients in areas including criminal law, family law, commercial law, conveyancing and civil litigation.”

Mr Radford holds a Bachelor of Laws from Sydney University and a Bachelor of Economics from La Trobe University.

“I congratulate Mr Radford on his appointment to the Magistrates’ Court, and look forward to his ongoing contribution to the state’s judicial system,” Mr Clark said.