power of courts to control the way litigants used
expert witnesses. The Law Institute of Victoria
was critical of these changes and their concerns
were considered when discussing the impact
the Bill would have on the equality of all litigants
before the law.
of the Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Amendment (Affidavits) Bill 2012, which
retrospectively validated affidavits incorrectly
sworn by police. Its concerns were taken up by a
number of members in the parliamentary debate.
Amendment (Affidavits) Bill 2012 was not the
only Bill to respond to public concerns. Other
Bills in 2012 were also informed by community
expectations, including the Sentencing Survey
published by the Department of Justice in
December 2011 that gathered public opinion on
sentencing practice through a survey available
on the Department's website and in the Herald
Sun. Several Bills in 2012 addressed community
concerns in sentencing, including the Crimes
Amendment (Gross Violence Offences) Bill 2012.
law-making
human rights concerns with existing legislation,
Parliament is able to legislate an appropriate
response. This reflects the dialogue model
promoted by the Charter.
problems with transitional provisions of the
Sentencing Act 1991, which left a gap between
the community based sentencing orders, which
had been repealed, and the new sentencing
scheme that was not yet operating.
available to the judge and whether community
corrections orders made since that date were
valid. The Road Safety and Sentencing Acts
Amendment Bill 2012 was introduced and
passed by Parliament while the matter was before
the Court. Although it did not specifically affect
the case, the Bill clarified how the law would
apply to other similar situations and prevent a
result that was clearly not intended by Parliament.
Residential Tenancies Act 1997 that determined
decision by the Victorian Civil and Administrative
Tribunal (VCAT) interpreted the law as requiring
three breaches of duty notices before a notice to
vacate can be served. The Residential Tenancies
Amendment Bill 2012 reduced this requirement to
two notices.
Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 introduced
provisions that allow the Chief Commissioner
to determine standards of dress and grooming
in the police force. The Chief Commissioner
had previously changed requirements in the
police manual, which had been the subject
of publicised complaints by officers. The
amendment removed the uncertainty about the
Chief Commissioner's powers to determine these
standards.
understanding around the scope of human rights,
which the Victorian Parliament is increasingly
relying on in statements of compatibility. Several
cases this year have considered the extent
to which freedom of expression is protected
in Victoria (see Chapter 3 for a more detailed
discussion). The statement of compatibility
for the Classification (Publications, Films And
Computer Games) (Enforcement) Amendment
Bill 2012 considered the extent to which the Bill
restricted freedom of expression. It referred to a
2012 Supreme Court case that affirmed that the
right to freedom of expression does not include
expression that includes damage to property or
threat of such damage, nor violence or a threat
of violence.
(Freedom of Information Commissioner) Bill 2011,
the Member for Western Victoria noted that the
objective of the Act was to enable the community
to access government information to the greatest
extent possible. He noted that this was supported
by a VCAT decision which held that the right
to freedom of expression contained a positive
obligation on the Government to provide access
to documents it holds.
of their local laws since the introduction of the
Charter. In some instances, this has required
amending laws for compatibility with the Charter,
such as Northern Grampians' General Local Law.