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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

Ms LUETHEN (King) (14:14): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the minister update the house about the statewide trial of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme introduced by the government in October?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:15): I thank the member for King for this important question, and for her continued diligent work in this space, because we certainly are very proud of the reforms that we announced prior to the election and our commitment to deal with and provide a comprehensive suite of actual actions to deal with the scourge of domestic violence. We were over listening to announcements, reports, pamphlets, ideas and recommendations with not very much done. So I am very proud to say that having announced, as soon as the formation of this government, that $11.9 million over the next four years was identified for the establishment of the 40 new emergency crisis beds, the interest-free loans to be available to non-government organisations to fund—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is called to order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —new domestic violence housing, extending the Women's Safety Services Domestic Violence Crisis Line to the 24-hour service, the development of a personal protection app and, of course, peak body funding for the Coalition of Women's Domestic Violence Services. As an update generally on these commitments, the Hon. Michelle Lensink—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: I can hear something yapping over there, but I would—

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell continues to interject and she is warned. The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —certainly hope that members would be keen to find—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —that there have been significant advances in these areas and I hope would be proud to report it to their constituencies. The government had already provided funding through our initiatives for the coalition of women's domestic and Aboriginal family violence, which is $624,000 over four years; we are working through the identification of locations for the new crisis accommodation; the interest-free loans; and also the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, which started in early October.

On the whole, the government is and should be very proud of this range of initiatives and, with the support of the Office for Women, continues to roll them out in close consultation with the sector and people with lived experience. As members can see, we are acting to deal with the scourge of domestic violence. The last two months alone have been devastating for women in particular, with multiple deaths occurring at the hands of male partners across Australia. Any reform that provides a possible preventative measure for domestic violence should be progressed.

One of those key reforms, as we have discussed in this house before, is the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. As members would know, this is based on the Clare's Law model, operating in the United Kingdom. Let's consider the update of that. Importantly, a link was formed between the applicant and the domestic violence service. This is the key part of the scheme, particularly in connecting those who are a bit unsure about their relationship or the behaviour of a partner and who need some assistance or guidance.

On the data, at the end of November, the DV Disclosure Scheme received 51 applications in total. Of those, 45 applications have been assessed and completed. Of those 45 applications assessed, 25 have met the criteria for disclosure. This number is important as it shows that we have a situation in South Australia where at-risk people are needing support from other services and potentially have not been in contact with an appropriate service in the past. Beyond this number, 21 have not met the criteria for disclosure, but Women's Safety Services SA are making contact with this cohort regardless, to ensure the appropriate service for their situation is provided.

As is crucial with the scheme, if an application is received and is deemed higher risk, the police action these applications within 48 hours and begin action swiftly. Since the scheme rollout on 2 October, five applicants have been assessed from their application as being at imminent risk. The final key figure I would like to share with the parliament is the number of regional applicants. As members would be aware, this government made the conscious decision to make this a statewide trial. They might like to hear this.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier's time has expired.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Since the rollout—

The SPEAKER: Time has expired, Deputy Premier.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: The point of order better be a good one, minister.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes. Early on in the minister's reply, she was interjected upon. The capacity is there for the Speaker to provide further time—

The SPEAKER: Has the Deputy Premier finished her answer?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: No, Mr Speaker, I haven't. If I may, I would hope that members opposite would be very clear—

The SPEAKER: With all respect to the Deputy Premier, you did have ample time to answer that.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Thank you. We will deal with it in a supplementary.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Member for Kaurna.

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