Policy
What No One Told Us
The Australian criminal justice system is characterised by attrition. This paper draws on national data and lived experience case studies to expose the hidden cost of legal illiteracy - the gap between the rights victims are promised and the rights they can actually exercise - and lays out the need for independent legal representation for victim-survivors.
Submission on the Exposure Draft Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026
Our submission is confined to the consultation’s questions on emerging technologies, which we answer from the perspective of victims of sexual violence, stalking and technology-facilitated abuse. Technology changes, but the pattern doesn't: innovation comes first, and the law responds only after harm is done. We address six places where, in our view, this Bill leaves victim-survivors exposed to harm the law has not yet caught up to.
Submission to the Second Action Plan
Submission to the consultation on the Second Action Plan under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032. The consultation paper says that most forms of violence in Australia are declining or static, and that this should give us confidence that change is possible. We accept that. But sexual violence is the exception, and it has been the exception for twenty years. It will remain the exception for as long as the system that is supposed to deliver accountability continues to deter the very people it depends on.
Inquiry into the Human Rights Bill NSW 2025
Submission to the Inquiry into the Human Rights Bill NSW 2025, which proposes to establish a statutory human rights framework for NSW and impose measures to support the protection of those rights. We focus on the provisions of the Bill that most directly affect victim-survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence, and expresses that any recognition of victims' rights must be matched by standing and access to independent legal advice and representation.
Inquiry into the ACT’s Family, Personal and Sexual Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Submission to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, Standing Committee on Legal Affairs Inquiry into the Family, Personal and Sexual Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. This submission expresses concern that the proposed reforms do not go far enough to improve how ACT laws respond to sexual violence, representing a missed opportunity to implement key recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s final report ‘Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence’, particularly recommendation 10.
Inquiry into the Defence Amendment (Sexual Assault Prevention, Intervention and Response Commission) Bill 2025
This submission addresses one central issue. If the Defence Amendment (Sexual Assault Prevention, Intervention and Response Commission) Bill 2025 is to achieve its stated goal of being trauma-informed, victim-centred and independent, it must guarantee structurally independent legal representation with standing rights for victim-survivors at every stage of the process, particularly in relation to protections for victim- survivor’s confidential communications and records.
Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission
Sarah Rosenberg and Associate Professor Mary Iliadis of Deakin University submit to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence, putting forward a comprehensive argument for independent legal representation.
Expert Advisory Group Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission
A collaboration between several members of the Expert Advisory Group to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence.
