Investing in a justice system that keeps Australians safe & advances integrity & accountability

The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
Media Release

The Albanese Government is delivering on election commitments and investing in a justice system that keeps Australians safe, better protects women and children and advances integrity and accountability across public institutions.

Delivering a safer, simpler Family Law system

The Albanese Government is making the Family Law system safer and simpler for parents and their children, with over $71 million allocated to the Attorney-General’s Department to support the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

Measures include:

  • $33.1 million to continue and expand nationally the Family Law Priority Property Pools program. This helps separated couples - including women at risk of domestic or family violence - to achieve quick, fair and affordable settlements in small property disputes via a proven, streamlined court process;
  • $18.4 million to improve the safety of women and children in international child abduction cases under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; and
  • $13.4 million to extend the Lawyer-Assisted Family Law Property Mediation program, which funds state and territory Legal Aid Commissions to provide legal advice, advocacy and support for vulnerable separating couples to mediate and reach agreement on small value property disputes.

Strengthening and harmonising sexual assault and consent laws

The Albanese Government will provide $6.5 million to strengthen and harmonise sexual assault and consent laws across Australia, and improve criminal justice responses to sexual assault for victims and survivors.

This includes a ministerial-level roundtable on addressing sexual violence, which will inform an Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence.

Tackling modern slavery

The Albanese Government will deliver a key election commitment to implement an Anti-Slavery Commissioner, with $8 million allocated over four years.

Modern slavery - including human trafficking, forced labour and forced marriage - are abhorrent crimes that have no place in our society.

The Anti-Slavery Commissioner is part of Labor’s comprehensive Tackling Modern Slavery election commitment which also includes the introduction of penalties for non-compliance with the Modern Slavery Act.

Protecting Australians’ privacy

The Albanese Government will invest an additional $45.2 million to better protect Australians’ privacy.

This includes:

  • Funding for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to progress privacy investigations and litigation arising from major data breaches;
  • The restoration of a standalone Privacy Commissioner to deal with the growing threats to data security and the increasing volume and complexity of privacy issues; and
  • Funding for an independent statutory review of the operation of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act, which regulates credit reporting.

Keeping Australians safe

The Albanese Government is providing funding certainty for the management of terrorist offenders at the conclusion of their custodial sentences, securing ongoing funding, including $130.1 million over two years from 2023-24.

Shockingly, the former Government treated the High Risk Terrorist Offenders scheme as a terminating measure, with funding ending on 30 June 2023. That is despite the obvious need for ongoing funding to manage continuing threats and keep Australians safe. The Albanese Government has fixed the former Government’s wilful mishandling of this important element of Australia’s national security framework.

We will also improve Australia's national security and strengthen our law and justice framework so communities are kept safe through investing:

  • $14.3 million to strengthen Australia’s anti-money laundering framework; and
  • $6.2 million to complete the overdue design of Australia’s electronic surveillance reforms.

Office of the Special Investigator

The Albanese Government will provide $129.4 million for the continuing work of the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), including additional funding for:

  • The Attorney-General’s Department to support the operations of the OSI through international crime cooperation processes and legal advice; and
  • The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to consider and prosecute briefs of evidence received from the OSI.

Restoring integrity and accountability to government

The National Anti-Corruption Commission commences operation on 1 July 2023. The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to return integrity, honesty and accountability to Australia’s public institutions.

This year’s Budget allocates an additional $3 million for the Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, whose functions were expanded by the Parliament. This is in addition to the $262.6 million over four years provided in the October 2022-23 Budget for the establishment and ongoing operation of the Commission.

We are also investing $25.8 million in oversight of the National Intelligence Community, including strengthening the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.

Other legal support and initiatives

To support the Albanese Government’s busy and comprehensive legislative agenda, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel will receive $6.1 million to recruit additional drafters.