Recommendation 1
That section 93F of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 be amended to address any anomalous situation that may arise concerning entitlements to weekly compensation in circumstances in which a person is injured prior to age 63 years and, while still employed beyond the age of 65, has an incapacity for work arising from that injury.
Recommendation 2
That the ANZAC Day Act 1958 be amended to provide for definitions of ‘dependant’, ‘partner’ and ‘domestic partner’ for the purposes of section 4A (ANZAC Day Proceeds Fund) consistent with the definition of those terms found in section 3 of the State Superannuation Act 1988.
Recommendation 3
That section 35(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 be repealed and replaced with a new section defining the term ‘domestic partner’ as ‘a person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis (irrespective of gender).
That the term ‘de facto spouse’ in sections 44(2), 51 and 52 of the Crimes Act 1958 be replaced with the term ‘domestic partner’.
Recommendation 4
That the terms ‘married person’ and ‘spouse’ in sections 337, 338 and 339 of the Crimes Act 1958 be replaced with ‘domestic partner’ so as to extend the limited liability of married persons to de facto heterosexual and same-sex couples.
That the gender specificity of the marital coercion provisions should be removed and that the defence of coercion be extended to include people who are in de facto and same-sex relationships.
Recommendation 5
That the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ in section 400 of the Crimes Act 1958 be replaced with the term ‘domestic partner’.
That for the purposes of section 400 of the Crimes Act 1958, the term ‘domestic partner’ be defined as ‘a person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis (irrespective of gender)’.
That the term ‘step-child or child of the accused’s domestic partner’ be added to section 400(3) of the Crimes Act 1958.
Recommendation 6
That the definition of ‘child’ in section 3 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 be amended so that it allows applications for protections orders to be made in relation to young persons who have turned 17 but who have not attained age 18.
Recommendation 7
Recommendation 8
That Part V of the Property Law Act 1958 should be repealed.
Recommendation 9
That Part 4A of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 should be retained.
Recommendation 10
That section 5 of the Credit Act 1984 should be retained.
Recommendation 11
That the exclusion of ‘patients’, as defined under the Mental Health Act 1986 in Schedule 2 of the Juries Act 2000, should be retained.
Recommendation 12
That section 158 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Lead) Regulations 2000, which adopts the national Exposure Standards for Atmospheric Contaminants in the Occupational Environment, should be retained.
Recommendation 13
That section 28LB of the Wrongs Act 1958 should be retained.
Recommendation 14
That section 11 of the Adoption Act 1984 be retained pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 15
That section 15(1) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 should be retained pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 16
That section 27 of the Evidence Act 1958 should be retained pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 17
That section 28 of the Evidence Act 1958 should be retained, pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 18
That section 8 of the Infertility Treatment Act 1995 should be retained, pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 19
That section 23 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 should be retained pending review by the Department of Human Services.
Recommendation 20
That sections 13, 14 and 16 of the Summary Offences Act 1966 should be retained until a new regime for the management of public drunkenness has been enacted, at which point the sections should be repealed.
Recommendation 21
That Schedule 7 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 should be retained.
Recommendation 22
That Regulation 21(1) of the Police Regulations 2003 should be retained.
Recommendation 23
That section 4(3) of the Bail Act 1977 should be retained, pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 24
That section 29(3) of the Coroners Act 1985 should be retained, pending review by the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee.
Recommendation 25
That sections 100 and 101 of the Evidence Act 1958 should be retained, pending review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Recommendation 26
In view of the foreshadowed re-enactment of the provisions concerning begging (proposed new section 49A of the Summary Offences Act 1966) the Committee makes no recommendation.
Recommendation 27
The Committee was required by the terms of reference to note the objectives of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (EOA) which include, (a) the promotion, recognition and acceptance of everyone’s right to equality and (b) the elimination, as far as possible, of discrimination against people by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of various attributes.
In light of the terms of reference the Committee has concluded that the review provision in section 207 of the EOA is not an efficient or effective method of auditing Victorian enactments that discriminate or that may lead to discrimination against any person. The Committee has examined alternative review models and makes the following recommendations –
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That section 69 of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (EOA) should be repealed with a sunset period of three years.
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That section 207 of the EOA should be repealed.
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That equal opportunity principles should be prescribed in the EOA or other legislation. These principles are to be used as a standard for scrutiny and should not, on their own, give rise to any legally enforceable right of action.
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That prior to the repeal of section 69 of the EOA, government departments and agencies undertake an audit of existing enactments administered by them against the equal opportunity principles.
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That any enactment identified as being incompatible with the equal opportunity principles, but which is intended to override the provisions of the EOA be prescribed in a schedule to the EOA.
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That any enactment identified as being incompatible with the equal opportunity principles but is not intended to override the provisions of the EOA be amended to remove the discrimination.
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That all proposed enactments should be scrutinised against the equal opportunity principles.
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That proposed enactments that are incompatible with the equal opportunity principles or that are intended to override the provisions of the EOA should be accompanied by a Ministerial declaration or statement of reasons justifying such incompatibility at the time the enactment is introduced or tabled in the Parliament.
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That a Committee of the Parliament should be required to review and report to the Parliament on any proposed enactment that is declared or identified as being inconsistent with the equal opportunity principles or which are declared to override the provisions of the EOA.
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That failure to comply with a procedural requirement (recommendations 8 and 9) in relation to an enactment should not affect the validity, operation or enforcement of any Victorian law.
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That a primacy provision should be included in the EOA or other legislation that provides that in interpreting a provision in an enactment, a construction that would promote the equal opportunity principles is to be preferred to a construction that would not promote those principles.