Why the need for change
Community consultation
Submissions
Funding
Legislation
Why the need for change?
Historically, the response to family violence has focused on assisting victims to leave violent relationships by providing shelters, practical assistance and counselling services.
This approach has helped many people to leave violent relationships and has been instrumental in raising public awareness of family violence issues. However, it has not reduced the incidence of family violence, nor has it addressed the behaviour of offenders.
Community consultation
In order to achieve Tasmania Together Goal 2: To have a community where people feel safe and are safe in all aspects of their lives, the Attorney-General asked that an options paper be developed that would identify the most effective way of reducing the incidence of family violence in Tasmania.
The Options Paper, Safe at Home: A Criminal Justice Framework for Responding to Family Violence in Tasmania, was released by the Government in August 2003 as a vehicle to consult with key government and non-government stakeholders about new family violence legislation and the integration of justice response systems. A full consultation on Safe at Home was held in 2003, which involved regional public consultation sessions in the South, North and North-West.
Submissions
Written submissions on the proposed framework were called for and closed on 19 September 2003. Thirty-one submissions were received. The overwhelming majority of submissions were supportive of the proposed pro-arrest, pro-charge, pro-prosecution framework and integrated response to family violence.
Funding
Funding for an integrated, whole-of-government response to family violence, known as Safe at Home, was announced in the 2004-05 Tasmanian budget.
Legislation
On 26 November 2004 the Tasmanian Parliament passed the Family Violence Bill, Tasmania's first stand alone family violence legislation. The legislation came into effect in March 2005.
