- Family Violence Legislation Reform Bill 2024 passes through State Parliament
- Courts and the Prisoners Review Board will now be compelled to impose electronic monitoring on repeat and high-risk family violence perpetrators who are on bail or otherwise supervised in the community
- Definition of family violence in the Restraining Orders Act 1997 amended to better recognise the patterned nature of coercive control
Repeat and high-risk family violence offenders will be tracked across the justice system, including as part of bail, sentence, parole and post-sentence supervision, following the passage of new laws through State Parliament.
The Cook Government's nation-leading reforms will require courts and the Prisoners Review Board to impose electronic monitoring (EM) on repeat and high-risk family violence perpetrators who are on bail or otherwise supervised in the community.
The family violence perpetrators captured by the new laws include those:
- subject to a family violence restraining order (FVRO) and subsequently accused or convicted of a further family violence offence;
- subject to a serial family violence offender declaration who are accused or convicted of a family violence offence; and
- who are subject to an FVRO and released from prison under an early release order or a post-sentence supervision order for a family violence offence.
The new laws also establish new offences related to the operation of electronic monitoring, which are punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine of up to $36,000. It is now an offence for a person subject to EM:
- fail to wear an approved EM device;
- fail to permit the installation of an approved EM device at the place where the offender resides or at any other specified place;
- fail to charge the approved EM device to ensure the device is always operational; and
- enter an exclusion zone without reasonable excuse.
Importantly, the laws amend the Restraining Orders Act 1997 (RO Act) to include a reference to the patterned nature of coercive control behaviours and their cumulative effect in the existing definition of family violence.
This change follows the Government's announcement that it would take a phased approach to the criminalisation of coercive control, starting with amendments to the RO Act and education and training, to strengthen the likelihood of successful prosecutions once coercive control is criminalised and protect victim-survivors.
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"These important reforms build on my Government's unwavering commitment to tackle family and domestic violence in the State and to hold offenders to account.
"These are the most extensive and toughest laws in Australia for protecting women and children from the scourge of family violence.
"They will ensure that family violence offenders are monitored all the way through the justice system as part of bail, sentencing, parole and post-sentence supervision.
"The expectation is that an additional 500 devices will be fitted on offenders in Western Australia in the first year of this legislation's operation."
As stated by Attorney General John Quigley:
"These reforms will tip the scale in favour of victim-survivors by subjecting certain persons who are accused or convicted of family violence offences to mandatory electronic monitoring, except in exceptional circumstances.
"These laws will greatly enhance the safety of victim-survivors by ensuring greater perpetrator accountability by mandating the imposition of electronic monitoring conditions, which will allow the perpetrator's whereabouts to be monitored around the clock.
"Police will be able to respond swiftly to the commission of new electronic monitoring-related offences by perpetrators, such as entering exclusion zones established for the safety of victim-survivors."
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Sabine Winton:
"The Cook Government has a long-standing history of supporting victim-survivors of family and domestic violence through record investment and law reform.
"The passing of this Bill is another practical action that we are taking to keep victim-survivors safe and hold men who choose to use violence accountable for their actions.
"Importantly, these reforms amend the definition of family violence to better recognise the patterned nature of coercive control.
"This is a crucial step in our Government's phased approach to criminalising this insidious form of family and domestic violence.
"We know there is always more to be done and our Government will continue to work hard to improve safety for victim-survivors."
