Fair Agenda

Dear Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny,

Give sexual assault survivors the right to pre-record evidence

Reporting a sexual assault, and trying to get justice, closure or healing should not cause someone further harm. But right now rules that determine victim-survivor experiences of Victoria’s court processes are causing unnecessary harm and distress.

Victim survivors deserve a more compassionate and trauma-informed legal process that must include the right to pre-record their testimony.

Giving evidence requires a victim survivor to recount some of the most difficult moments of their life, and then be questioned on specific details of sexual assault committed against them in minute and graphic detail. The process can be extremely distressing.

The period of waiting to give evidence at the trial can be one of the most challenging experiences a victim survivor may have. Knowing the process of giving evidence looms ahead causes significant stress and anxiety, and therefore has detrimental impacts on someone’s wellbeing, healing and recovery.

Victoria’s current rules mean that many adult victim survivors of sexual assault are subjected to distressing wait times, with many facing years of waiting between reporting to police and any trial process commencing. Throughout this time, and any delay and adjournments that follow, victim survivors have to remain ready to recount the sexual assault in great detail. These wait times cause additional harm to people who our legal system should be supporting.

We urge the Victorian Government to act on the recommendations of experts and ensure all complainants in sexual offence matters in Victoria have the right to pre-record their testimony.

Specifically, we ask the Premier and Attorney-General to:

1) Amend the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) to give all complainants in sexual offence matters the legal right to pre-record their evidence, if they choose to do so.

2) Ensure sufficient equipment and personnel within Victoria courts to make this option available to victim survivors across the state.

This reform was recommended by the Victorian Law Reform Commission in 2021 and again by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2025. It is already standard practice in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Pre-recorded testimony allows victim survivors to give evidence much earlier on, reducing the harm caused by trial delays, and enabling them to move on with their lives, and focus on their wellbeing. It increases victim survivor agency, and research suggests the improved timeliness ofpre-recording testimony also allows a victim survivor to remember more details and provide better evidence.

While recent Allan Government reforms to committals have been positive, further steps are still needed. We urge you to drive the legal reform needed to provide all victim survivors of sexual assault with the right to pre-record their testimony.

CC:

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland MP

Mary-Anne Thomas MP, Minister for Women

Ingrid Stitt MP, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence

Elizabeth Langton, Victims of Crime Commissioner