Page 786 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
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The third change this bill makes to reporting laws is to amend the reportable conduct scheme. Last year the government passed legislation extending the application of the reportable conduct scheme to religious organisations. The legislation included a nine-month exclusion for information disclosed in a religious confession, to allow time to undertake further consultation on this part of the scheme. The government has conducted extensive consultation since that legislation passed, and this has included commissioning Justice Julie Dodds-Streeton to undertake extensive consultation with stakeholders to prepare that report to government.
Based on the consultation, Her Honour recommended in her report that the application of the reportable conduct scheme to physical or sexual abuse against a child disclosed in a religious confession be included within the scope of the reportable conduct scheme. That is consistent with the scope of information which must be disclosed under the mandatory reporting scheme and represents the least restrictive means possible to achieve the aim of protecting children’s safety.
In addition to strengthen reporting obligations, the bill makes other amendments to improve access to justice for survivors of child sexual abuse. It extends the application of the ACT’s extensive special measures scheme to those making a victim impact statement. That includes features like being able to appear by CCTV and using screens in the courtroom. The change supports victims to be heard in court not just as witnesses to support a prosecution but also in the sentencing phase. The purpose of the change is to mitigate the trauma associated with participating in court proceedings.
The bill will also retrospectively repeal a common-law presumption that a male under 14 years was presumed incapable of sexual intercourse. That meant in cases where a young offender assaulted another child no criminal prosecution could be undertaken. The presumption was abolished in the ACT in 1985; however, it was not retrospectively abolished. This has the practical effect of preventing access to justice for victims of male perpetrators where the male perpetrator was under the age of 14 at the time of the offending behaviour. This amendment retrospectively repeals the presumption to remove this outdated and anachronistic common-law immunity.
Finally, the bill will retrospectively amend section 70 of the Crimes Act to rectify a technical inconsistency in the availability of alternative verdicts for child sexual abuse. Irregularities in drafting meant there was at least an argument that an alternative verdict was not available for some historic prosecutions where it was clearly intended to be at the time. This bill corrects those technical issues.
The amendments in this bill improve the protection of children from child abuse. They improve access to justice for victims and they enhance the justice system’s capacity to hold perpetrators to account. This bill demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to implement the royal commission’s recommendations. We acknowledge our responsibilities as a government and as a community. Ensuring that the royal commission’s work becomes action in the ACT is something we have done throughout this term and something we will continue to do.
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