The ACT government has introduced landmark legislation to prevent individuals convicted of sexual offences against children from using good character references to seek lighter sentences.
Ending a 'Perverse' Legal Loophole
Attorney-General Tara Cheyne tabled the bill in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, December 4, 2025. She stated the community could no longer ignore the reality that offenders often gained access to children precisely because they were perceived as being of good character.
"This perception means they have been trusted with a child or children, giving them the access that resulted in the abuse being committed," Ms Cheyne said.
She labelled it "perverse" that the same reputation could then be presented in court as a mitigating factor during sentencing. The new law will explicitly state that evidence of an offender's prior good character, including testimonials describing someone as a "good bloke," cannot be used to reduce the severity of their sentence.
Campaign by Survivors Drives Change
The reform has been heavily influenced by the Your Reference Ain't Relevant campaign, co-founded by survivors Harrison James and Jarad Grice. The campaign gathered more than 560 signatures on a 2024 petition to the Assembly, prompting former attorney-general Shane Rattenbury to convene a roundtable on the issue.
"For too long, survivors have had to sit in courtrooms and listen to their abuser described as a 'good person,' even when that reputation is what gave them access to the child they harmed," Mr James said, welcoming the government's move.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury also endorsed the change, noting that the concept of 'good character' had often been exploited as a tool in the grooming process.
New Powers to Combat Family Violence
The same omnibus bill, titled the Family, Personal and Sexual Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, introduces other significant legal reforms.
It proposes a new family violence safety notice that senior police officers can issue immediately to protect victims. This notice can provide protection for up to 14 days, giving the affected person time to seek support and apply for a long-term family violence order.
This system would replace the existing after-hours order scheme, which requires a magistrate's approval and is only accessible outside business hours.
Jury Selection Process Overhauled
In a separate but concurrent move, Labor backbencher Taimus Werner-Gibbings introduced a private member's bill to reform jury selection.
His bill aims to cut the number of peremptory challenges – where legal parties can reject a potential juror without providing a reason – from eight to four for a standard 12-person jury. The number would be reduced proportionally for other jury sizes.
Mr Werner-Gibbings argued that these challenges, often based on observable characteristics like age or ethnicity, reduce jury diversity and undermine the random selection process. Unlimited challenges for cause, which require evidence and justification, would remain to ensure fair trials.
If passed, these combined measures represent a substantial shift in ACT justice procedures, prioritising victim protection and addressing systemic flaws in how offenders are sentenced and juries are formed.
