Two of Australia’s leading voices on justice and safety will use a National Press Club platform in Canberra to press for sweeping changes to the way the country addresses sexual violence.
The Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), and Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin will deliver a joint address titled Safe, informed and supported: addressing sexual violence. The appearance follows the ALRC’s 12‑month Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence and the tabling of its final report on 6 March 2025.
Justice Bromberg is expected to outline the inquiry’s findings and a suite of recommendations, arguing the justice system is falling short on accountability and access to justice. Commissioner Cronin will focus on community needs and the actions required to advance the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children.
“This address is an important opportunity to deepen the national conversation on addressing sexual violence. The work of the ALRC and the DFSVC highlights the scale of the challenge, and the matching need for significant reform right across the justice system and beyond. Sexual violence is a unique and widespread harm. The justice system has a critical role to play in ending this harm by providing people who have experienced sexual violence with a safe, informed, and supported way of accessing justice; and by holding perpetrators of sexual violence to account.”
“The ALRC has made a powerful statement, recognising that sexual violence causes widespread harm, particularly for women, that often has lifelong impacts. We must also recognise that rates of sexual violence are getting worse, and our response is not improving fast enough – it is one of the most harmful, under reported, and under prosecuted crimes.
“National Cabinet has identified domestic, family and sexual violence as one of its top priorities, and the national Women’s and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council is leading governments’ collective efforts. Our shared goal under the National Plan is, and should be, to end domestic, family and sexual violence in one generation. This report helps us on that path, now we must act.”
The ALRC’s final report, Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence, sets out 64 recommendations aimed at overhauling justice responses. They seek to remove barriers that prevent people who have experienced sexual violence from engaging with the system; strengthen accountability and court processes by reducing retraumatisation and challenging myths and misconceptions; and broaden the range of avenues and remedies available, including civil and restorative justice pathways.
The inquiry drew 220 submissions from individuals and organisations and included 126 consultations with more than 384 participants. Justice Bromberg led the work alongside Commissioners the Hon Marcia Neave and Judge Liesl Kudelka, supported by an Australian Government‑appointed Expert Advisory Group comprising people with lived experience and advocates.
The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 provides the strategic framework for governments’ efforts, with domestic, family and sexual violence identified by National Cabinet as a top priority.
