Tell us what you think

We want to improve the safety of victims and potential victims of domestic and family violence in the ACT and to better hold people who use violence to account.

To do that we are proposing changes which will clearly set out when and how agencies should talk to each other about what they know concerning the risks to the safety of a person. The purpose of these changes is to keep victims and potential victims of domestic and family violence safe by ensuring that they rightfully receive the integrated and coordinated response and support they require.

In the past agencies have failed to talk to other agencies about what they know about risks to the safety of a person. Although existing laws allow agencies to talk to other agencies about their concerns, agencies do not know or understand when they can or should do this. The current law is not adequate, and changes are required.

Your responses to this survey will help us shape the draft Bill which amends the Domestic Violence Agencies Act 1986 to make these changes. We want to ensure that any changes to the law do not have any unintended negative consequences.

This survey seeks your views about these proposed changes to the law.

We recognise that for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, distrust of government and institutions because of historic and current punitive treatment can already be a barrier to reporting domestic and family violence and seeking help.

We want to make sure this Bill is culturally respectful and safe, and the proposed changes have a positive impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To ensure the views, experiences, and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT are considered, we strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members to respond to this survey.

Please respond to this survey by 5 pm on Monday 31 October 2022.

Privacy

This survey is confidential and anonymous. You can find our full Privacy Policy on our website www.act.gov.au/privacy.