Australian federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus Monday announced that $14.7 million will be dedicated to improving sexual assault laws across the country. Dreyfus stated that the main focus is on ensuring the criminal justice system and process do not further harm sexual assault victims.

The funding will be delivered in two stages. Stage one will see the creation of a Law Reform Commission and an Export Advisory Group to explore the issues and provide recommendations, along with increased efforts to unify sexual assault and consent laws across Australia. Stage Two is set for 2026 and 2027, during which the funding will be used to design and test the effectiveness of a new type of criminal trial aimed at “prevention and early intervention.” Dreyfus did not provide any information on what exactly these trials would look like or how they would differ from current sexual assault trials.

Sexual violence and consent have been areas of significant focus in recent years, particularly in the context of several high-profile sexual assault trials in Australia, such as the Lehrmann case and the Porter case. Both the state and federal governments have announced various funding and legislation changes. In June 2022, New South Wales introduced new consent laws that more clearly defined consent and gave new directions for juries in sexual assault trials.

The announcement of this funding follows the government’s National Plan to reduce violence against women and children in October 2022, which included funding of $20 million for “more specialised, trauma-informed legal services and training for sexual violence response.”