Eliminating family violence remains a top priority for my Government.
Today we will table legislation which will allow a Court to terminate a residential tenancy agreement without penalty when making a Family Violence Order.
Under current legislation, victims of family violence are often forced to face the cost and burden of taking on a lease alone. Not only can this lead to financial hardship for the victim, but it can make it more difficult for people facing that scenario to seek help, knowing that they may have to pay additional rent.
The Residential Tenancy Amendment Bill being tabled today will address this by providing the option for a lease to be terminated by a Court without penalty when making a Family Violence Order. It will allow for circumstances where a victim needs to break the lease and move to a new residence that is unknown to the perpetrator.
Today we are also releasing the latest progress update on the Safe Homes, Safe Families Family Violence Action Plan released in August 2015. The Plan committed an additional $26 million to fund new and direct actions to address family violence in Tasmania.
We have continued to make strong progress in implementing the 23 actions under the Plan and today’s update provides a snapshot of the additional services delivered under the Plan, including:
The Progress Report will be available today from www.dpac.tas.gov.au/safehomessafefamilies
It reminds us that while there has been significant action and progress made, Family Violence remains unacceptably prevalent in our community and addressing it requires ongoing action.
We are keeping our promise to respond to emerging family violence issues and this year’s State Budget included an additional $20.2 million toward family violence initiatives, including funding for employment of an additional legal practitioner, an additional Police Prosecutor, additional Court Support and Liaison Officers and additional resources for the Safe at Home Coordination Unit.