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Victoria invests over $700m for justice system
The Victorian 2021-22 budget provides more than $700 million to strengthen the state’s justice, legal and court systems, including $88 million to implement recommendations from the Lawyer X royal commission.
Jerome Doraisamy
Following the release of the federal budget 2021-22, in which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced nearly half a billion dollars to better support the family law system, Victoria has pledged over $700 million to strengthen the state’s justice, legal and court systems, including an expansion of its family violence court network, enhancing online services and a new fast-track model for victims of wage theft.
- Over $210 million for Victoria’s courts, to increase efficiency and clear backlogs caused by the pandemic, as well as boost online services.
- More than $55 million to support Victoria’s justice agencies to provide better support to courts and the community.
- $78 million to expand the network of specialist family violence courts.
- $13.7 million to fund perpetrator intervention programs.
- $9.6 million for a new fast-track model in the Magistrates Court to ensure wage theft cases are heard quickly.
- $51.6 million for the OPP to support its work prosecuting the state’s most serious offenders.
- $15 million to independent advocate and guardianship programs.
- $18.8 million to support the implementation of the royal commission into mental health.
- $33.1 million in programs to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody.
- $30.4 million for critical early intervention support services, including support for community legal centres, legal aid and dispute resolution.
- $87.92 million to implement recommendations from the Lawyer X royal commission.
- $33.3 million to bolster the Working with Children Check unit.
- $2.8 million to support the legal rights of LGBTQI+ Victorians with funding for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
“Our investments provide targeted support for vulnerable Victorians while seeking to empower women, Aboriginal people, people with disability, older Victorians and children. Most importantly this budget will make sure all Victorians have access to justice,” she proclaimed.
“Every worker has the right to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, that’s why we are making it easier and faster for Victorian workers to get what is rightfully theirs.”
Elsewhere, the state is making the following investments to ensure better outcomes for victims of crime, including protecting women and children from domestic violence:
- $54.6 million to improve state responses to victim survivors, and progress pledge to replace the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal with a more accessible and trauma-informed financial assistance scheme, as well as create a new Victims Legal Service through Victoria Legal Aid and community legal centres, and continue the Intermediaries Program;
- $165.1 million for initiatives “that will keep the community safe and help keep young people away from the criminal justice system”, including after-hours services and family therapy support for at-risk young people, treatment programs in the community to address the root causes of offending, and delivering stable and effective custodial centres;
- $354 million investment to implement all 227 recommendations of the world-first Royal Commission into Family Violence, such as almost $100 million for the ongoing implementation of information sharing and the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework and $44.1 million to deliver support for children impacted by family violence and sexual assault, including adolescents who use violence at home.
“Whether it’s teaching our kids consent, investing in support for Victorians of all backgrounds, or ensuring every budget we deliver leads towards gender equality – we’re investing in an equal future for women and girls,” she said.
“At the same time, these investments are also building and supporting our dedicated family violence workforce – creating new opportunities for thousands of Victorians at the heart of our response.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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