A committee in the Australian Capital Territory has recommended that the government consider banning character references for all sex crimes. Currently, such references can be considered by a judge or magistrate when sentencing a convicted offender.
The Family, Personal and Sexual Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 would specifically prevent character references from being used to mitigate sentences for child sex offenders. The campaign has been led by child sexual abuse survivors Harrison James and Jarad Grice, who argue that paedophiles exploit their good standing in the community to abuse children.
Tiffany Karlsson, chief executive of the Rape Crisis Centre, told the ACT Legislative Assembly committee that not extending the ban to all sexual offences 'buys into rape culture and victim blaming,' as all sexual violence involves an abuse of power. She also noted that the use of good character evidence in sentencing is distressing for survivors.
The report also recommended expanding police powers to issue family violence safety notices, despite opposition from the Domestic Violence Crisis Service Canberra and the territory's top lawyers. These notices could allow detention for up to 14 days, with ACT police arguing they would help protect victims outside court hours when the current system of applying to an after-hours magistrate is often unworkable.
Committee chair Chiaka Barry, a Canberra Liberals politician, issued a dissenting opinion on the safety notices, stating they represent a significant and unjustified departure from the rule of law and could put family violence victims at risk.
