Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic)
Legal Centres Praise Reform to Cut Misidentification Risk
The Federation of Community Legal Centres (the Federation) welcomes the passing of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2025, particularly its focus on tackling misidentification of the predominant aggressor and introducing a minimum age for respondents to Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIOs).
Misidentification-where the victim-survivor is incorrectly identified as the primary aggressor-remains one of the most harmful and entrenched system failures in Victoria's family violence response. Community legal centres across the state see every day how misidentification exposes victim survivors (especially women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, young people, people with a disability and people experiencing structural disadvantage) to criminalisation, trauma, and further harm.
The Federation strongly supports the Act's reforms aimed at improving police decision-making, strengthening safeguards, and reducing the risk of misidentification. These measures represent a meaningful step toward ensuring that the justice system better understands the dynamics of family violence and responds safely, fairly and consistently.
The Federation also welcomes the introduction of a minimum age for respondents to FVIOs, recognising that children-particularly very young children-require developmentally appropriate, therapeutic, and non-punitive responses. The community legal sector maintains that 12 years is a step in the right direction, but that a minimum age of 14 years aligns with evidence demonstrating that early criminalisation of children increases trauma and does not improve safety. This reform also supports improved system coordination between child protection, education, and youth mental health services to address the underlying causes of family conflict.
Louisa Gibbs, CEO at the Federation of Community Legal Centres said:
Community legal centres were pleased to be consulted deeply on the development of the bill, and commend the Victorian Government for considering and implementing many of our recommendations on these matters. We look forward to continuing to work with the government on future reforms to ensure the safety of people experiencing or at risk of family violence.
Elena Pappas, CEO at Law and Advocacy Centre for Women said:
When victim survivors are misidentified by Police as perpetrators of family violence, they are often propelled down the path of criminalisation. The wounds and setbacks inflicted on that path are enormously difficult to unwind and the consequences can be profound. By requiring Police to conduct thorough, evidence-based assessments informed by context rather than first impressions, we are hopeful that these reforms will spare victim-survivors from the compounded trauma of misidentification, improve their safety, and improve their trust in the system.
Cleona Feuerring, Legal Director at Westjustice said:
The Victorian Government's commitment to this law reform is a vital step toward ending family violence and protecting the safety and dignity of all women, mothers, young people and children. Requiring police and courts to consider relevant factors to avoid misidentification of the victim, whilst also setting a two-year minimum term for orders will improve the experiences and outcomes for victim-survivors. We are proud to have advocated for these reforms on behalf of our clients and the people of the West.
Janine Hill-Buxton, Principal Lawyer at South-East Monash Legal Service said:
We welcome these reforms as a vital step toward a safer, fairer family violence system. We support changes that introduce stronger safeguards, and reduce the risk of misidentification - critical measures to better protect victim-survivors from harm.
Measures to prevent children from 'ageing out' of protection at 18 will ensure their ongoing safety and support, and introducing a minimum age for FVIO respondents will make justice processes more informed, consistent, and child-focused.
Claudia Fatone, CEO at Women's Legal Service Victoria said:
These reforms mean police need to pause and look at the whole picture before issuing a family violence safety notice. That means considering what has happened over the entire relationship, not just what's happening in the moment. It means asking whether someone acted out of fear or self-protection, and recognising when a person's age, disability, cultural background or identity might make them more likely to be wrongly blamed. This is how we stop misidentification and make sure victim-survivors who reach out for help are met with safety, not further harm.
Antoinette Braybrook AM, CEO of Djirra said:
Djirra welcomes reforms that are a step in the right direction to improve safety for Aboriginal women. In our frontline work we see the rate of Aboriginal women being 'misidentified' continuing to rise. The punitive labelling of Aboriginal women by police and child protection systems is not done by mistake, it is deliberate racial targeting. Our women are punished, criminalised, and their children are removed, instead of being supported for their safety.
Aboriginal women must have access to a specialist advocate from a service like Djirra, from the very first interaction with these systems so that 'misidentification' can be prevented or corrected as soon as possible.
Tania Farha, CEO at inTouch Women's Legal Centre said:
We welcome these reforms to address misidentification of the predominant aggressor of family violence because we know some communities are particularly at risk of misidentification, including the migrant and refugee women we work with. We hope these reforms will not only help to shape a fairer system, but also contribute to addressing some of the systemic bias that exists in the justice system for these communities.
https://www.fclc.org.au/_reform_will_reduce_the_risk_of_misidentification_for_victim_survivors
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