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.
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.
