Key developments
- Model definition of family violence
- Submission to SIRA on Post Implementation Review of the Authorised Health Practitioner Framework
- Evaluation of the 2021 foreign investment reforms
- Draft State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (draft SEPP)
- Draft Commonwealth Integrity Commission Bill 2020: ‘reasonable suspicion’ thresholds
- Inquiry into constitutional reform and referendums
- Model Participation Rules version 7
- Aged Care Quality Standards
- Operationalising the National Strategic Framework for Information Sharing between the Family Law and Family Violence and Child Protection Systems
- Open Justice Court and Tribunal Information: access, disclosure and publication
- Draft Central Practice Direction
- Migration Amendment (Protecting Migrant Workers) Bill 2021
- Discussion paper: Strengthening Australia’s cyber security regulations and incentives
Model definition of family violence
The Law Society provided feedback on a Law Council model definition of family violence, which follows recommendations by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs and the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System that the Australian, state and territory governments should develop a nationally consistent definition.
Our position is that, while there is some value in ensuring a consistent definition of family violence across family law legislation, it would not be desirable or easy to achieve consistency across the family law and criminal law systems, as the definition is used for different purposes in those systems. Nor would it be easy to achieve a single definition across state and territory criminal law systems, due to the different legislative frameworks in the different jurisdictions.
We will continue to work with the Law Council in relation to this proposal.