Media Release
Embargoed until 12 a.m. (AEST) Thursday 3 December 2015
A report released today shows that while police and courts are treating family violence more seriously, fines are still a common penalty for breach of family violence orders.
The Sentencing Advisory Council’s report reveals a 54.6% increase in the number of family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) issued by courts in the past six years, from 17,777 to 27,478. A 42.3% increase in the rate of FVIOs issued – from 328 to 467 per 100,000 people – confirms that the increase is not simply due to population growth.
The Council’s report examined sentencing outcomes for contraventions of FVIOs and family violence safety notices (FVSNs), comparing the three-year period ending 30 June 2012 with the three-year period ending 30 June this year. The report also examined sentencing for the new aggravated contravention offences (intending to cause harm or fear for safety, or persistent contravention) since their introduction in April 2013.
Council Chair Emeritus Professor Arie Freiberg said it was 'clear that during the last few years there has been a trend for police and courts to treat contraventions of family violence intervention orders more seriously, and to charge and sentence these offences accordingly'.
'However, the continuing use of fines to sentence breaches of family violence orders remains an area of concern', Professor Freiberg said.
More than a third (36.5%) of offenders sentenced for an aggravated breach of a family violence intervention order (FVIO), which involves an intention to cause harm or fear for safety, received fines as a penalty where the breach was the only offence in the case. However, imprisonment (32.5%) and community correction orders (32.7%) were the most common sentences for aggravated breaches where the breach was sentenced with other offences.
The report found that fines were also a common penalty for non-aggravated FVIO contraventions, but that imprisonment and community sentences were also increasing over time. In 2014–15, non-aggravated FVIO contraventions received:
- Imprisonment in 16.2% of cases, increasing by 4.1% since 2009–10
- Suspended sentences in 6.2% of cases, decreasing by 7.3%
- Community sentences (such as community correction orders) in 24.7% of cases, increasing by 5.1%
- Fines in 27.1% of cases, increasing by 3.7%
- Low-end orders (including adjourned undertakings) in 22.3% of cases, decreasing by 3.7%.
The number of people sentenced for aggravated family violence contravention offences has increased steadily from their introduction in April 2013 to 30 June 2015. The report confirms that – as expected – those sentenced for aggravated offences are more likely to receive imprisonment or a community correction order, rather than a fine, low-end order, or diversion, compared with those sentenced for non-aggravated contravention offences.
Victims of family violence have been able to apply to a court for an FVIO since 1987.
In 2008, the law was changed to broaden the definition of family violence and the grounds on which an FVIO could be obtained. The Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) also introduced police-issued family violence safety notices, enabling police to provide short-term protection for a victim until an FVIO is obtained.
The maximum penalty for contravention of an FVIO is two years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $36,400. The aggravated contravention offences carry a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $91,002.
The Council’s report found that police were increasingly likely to apply for an FVIO, rather than affected family members. The number of family violence incidents recorded by police almost doubled between 2009–10 and 2014–15, from 35,666 incidents to 70,906. The number of incidents where police decided to lay charges during the same period increased from 22.3% to 38.2%.
Sentencing for Contravention of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices: Second Monitoring Report is available on the Council’s website.
