Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

Mrs POWER (Elder) (15:22): I rise to update the house on an initiative that I, along with the Attorney-General, the Minister for Human Services and my parliamentary colleagues, are proud to be able to have delivered for all South Australian women, men and children: the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.

Many of us in this house already know the statistics, which show that one in four women experiences domestic and family violence in their lives, while one in six men—or one in 16, depending on the statistics you use has experienced emotional abuse from a current or previous partner. Domestic and family violence is a widespread and persistent issue from which we as a government and as a community can no longer shy away.

We know that domestic and family violence is a pattern of violence that escalates over time in severity and frequency. So how can we as a government and a society help to prevent this from occurring? Studies and research have confirmed that one of the most effective ways to end domestic and family violence is through education and cultural change; that is, to stop it at the start. Cultural change requires a long-term commitment from everyone in our community to effect genuine change in our beliefs and behaviours.

It is indeed going to take all South Australians to take a stand, speak up and commit to change. Everyone in our community must make it clear that we will not tolerate domestic and family violence in any form, whether physical, emotional, financial or otherwise. Our business, religious, sporting and community leaders need to help drive this change. We must do more in condemning violent and abusive behaviour, modelling respectful behaviours and supporting victims of abuse.

At the election, the Marshall Liberal government took a comprehensive suite of initiatives to reduce the prevalence and impact of domestic and family violence. One initiative, which I mentioned at the start of my contribution, is the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. The scheme will ensure that any person who requests information about a partner's criminal history has the support to deal with any disclosed information and a plan for their safety.

I am proud to say that the one-year trial of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme began on 2 October, and we are currently reviewing the data from the first month of this trial. The disclosure scheme provides a clear pathway for a person to seek information about their partner or a former partner's criminal history if they have any concern that they may be at risk of domestic violence. A third party, such as a concerned parent or sibling, can also make an application for disclosure to be made by the police to the person they perceive to be at risk of harm.

Within the first four weeks SAPOL received 28 applications under the scheme, with 16 applications accepted for further consideration. Of these applications, 30 per cent have been from regional areas and 70 per cent from metropolitan areas. Approximately a third of people sought information about a current partner, with the remainder seeking information about an ex-partner. Receiving 28 applications over its first four weeks reflects a strong awareness of the scheme and uptake by people at risk of or experiencing, domestic or family violence. In comparison, regions across New South Wales that participated in a six-month evaluation period in 2017 received only 42 applications during that six-month evaluation period.

Seven disclosure meetings have been approved for information to be provided to the person at risk, and I would like to highlight that that is the real strength of this initiative: that at the time of disclosure, whether there is information to disclose or not, those people will receive the support of a specialist domestic violence support worker. It may also interest the house to know that disclosures will not be made in writing, and the at-risk person, and any third party present at disclosure, will be required to sign an undertaking not to disclose or misuse the information provided.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme is one of the many new initiatives of the Marshall Liberal government that we are delivering to end domestic and family violence. Just this week, on Monday, we announced that the crisis hotline has begun operating 24 hours, seven days a week. The response to that hotline has been phenomenal, with calls looking as if they are doubling from when the hotline was operating only nine to five business hours.

Our government is committed to supporting victims of family violence with timely and accessible services to help save lives and create change where it matters most, when it is needed.