WHO HAS THE POWER TO FIX THIS

These five demands fall under the responsibility of specific decision-makers. We call on Premier David Crisafulli, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, Minister Amanda Camm, and Commissioner Brett Pointing in Queensland, alongside Commonwealth Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, and Assistant Minister Ged Kearney at the federal level. South Australia has already implemented Clare's Law since 2018 — proving the first demand is achievable. The remaining four reforms require no new powers, only political will.

WE CALL ON THE FOLLOWING TO DELIVER IMMEDIATE CHANGE:

Queensland
- Premier David Crisafulli MP
- Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity The Hon. Deb Frecklington MP
- Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services; Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence The Hon. Amanda Camm MP
- Commissioner, Queensland Police Service Brett Pointing APM

 Commonwealth of Australia
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP
- Attorney-General and Cabinet Secretary Mark Dreyfus KC MP
- Minister for Social Services The Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP
- Assistant Minister for Social Services and Prevention of Family Violence The Hon. Ged Kearney MP

South Australia (as the proven model)
- Premier and Government of South Australia — Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme operating successfully since 2018

Independent Oversight
- Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin

 

NATIONAL CLARE'S LAW • INSTANT DV ALERTS • REAL PROTECTION

We will be the voice for those who were not heard — and every year we will ask:

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE — OR IS THIS SIMPLY FAILURE BY DESIGN?

He Is On Bail. I Am Still Hiding.

Twelve months later, I still cannot safely return home.

I am a survivor of high-risk domestic violence in Queensland. Twelve months after being placed in refuge, I still cannot safely return home. My children are separated from me. My home, my support network and the life I knew remain out of reach.

I was told I had to leave. That leaving would guarantee my protection. I was not told I may never return home.

If This Is Protection, Why Am I Still The One In Hiding?

At a candlelight vigil I attended, rows of clothing represented lives lost — tiny baby onesies, toddlers' clothes, teenage jackets and adults' clothes. Every outfit represented someone who should still be here.

Someone who laughed.

Someone who was loved.

Someone who had plans for tomorrow.

Someone who trusted that asking for help would keep them safe.

I was asked to write a poem for that vigil. I made it about who was at the heart of the problem — and every year we will ask those in power: where is the justice, or is this simply failure by design?

We honour them with candles. We must also honour them with action.

The person choosing abuse is responsible for that abuse. But governments, agencies and institutions must also be accountable for what happens when warning signs are known and opportunities to act are missed.

A justice system should not require victims to lose their homes, their families and their freedom in order to stay alive. Our justice system is failing the very people it claims to protect — and that must change.

We call on the Australian Government and every state and territory government to deliver five changes.

1. NATIONAL CLARE'S LAW — A RIGHT TO ASK AND A RIGHT TO KNOW

Establish a nationally consistent domestic violence disclosure scheme in every state and territory. South Australia has had one since 2018. There is no reason every other state and territory shouldn't.

Give people a safe way to ask about a current or former partner's relevant history of violence and abuse. Allow police to proactively disclose information where necessary to protect someone at risk.

Make relevant interstate records available to the officers assessing that risk, with proper safeguards for privacy, accuracy and survivor safety. Provide specialist support alongside disclosure. Make clear that an absence of recorded abuse does not guarantee safety, and that disclosure never makes a victim responsible for someone else's abuse.

A state border must never become a blind spot for danger.

2. 15-MINUTE ALERTS — AND ALWAYS BEFORE RELEASE

Offer victims safe enrolment in a national, 24/7 notification service, using their chosen safe contact method, including text or email. This should already be part of our domestic violence laws.

Victims should never have to chase information that could determine whether they live or die.

Require alerts within 15 minutes of:

• An arrest
• A bail application or bail decision
• A change to bail or other protective conditions
• A court outcome affecting their safety
• A decision to release the person from custody
• Release notifications must be sent before the person physically leaves custody. Failed alerts must trigger urgent human follow-up.

I was told to ring the courthouse before it closed. By the time I called, he had already been released for hours. On one occasion he was at my door before I even knew he was out.

A victim should never learn about a release from the person arriving at their door. Fifteen minutes is the maximum. Before release is the rule.

3. END VICTIM DISPLACEMENT — PROTECT OUR RIGHT TO GO HOME

When courts determine that someone presents an ongoing danger, the burden should not fall on the victim. Yet that is exactly what happens. My whereabouts must remain secret. My life is restricted by the danger someone else poses.

His bail should not become my sentence.

The dangerous person should be managed. The victim should be protected.

Australia already has secure accommodation options, electronic monitoring and supervision mechanisms available. We should be investing in containing the threat, not relocating the victim. Make it a priority to protect victims' ability to remain at home. Put enforceable restrictions on the person posing the risk — especially those who have already committed breaches with weapons, or who have threatened to end the victim's and/or children's life.

This must include:

• Refusing bail where an unacceptable risk cannot be safely managed
• Enforceable exclusion and no-contact conditions
• Properly supervised bail accommodation and electronic monitoring where appropriate
• Urgent responses to breaches, threats and stalking
• Funded support for survivors who need to relocate
• A monitoring device or a condition on paper must never be treated as a substitute for an effective response.

Safety must mean more than hiding the victim while the danger remains.

4. TEACH RESPECT BEFORE ANOTHER GENERATION LEARNS TO SURVIVE ABUSE

Because preventing violence starts long before police become involved.

Domestic violence rarely begins with a punch. It begins with control. Isolation. Manipulation. Jealousy disguised as love. Slowly shifting boundaries until behaviour that once seemed unacceptable becomes normal. Many victims don't recognise abuse until they are deeply trapped within it.

Require properly funded, age-appropriate respectful relationships education in every Australian school, with structured teaching from Year 7, building on earlier learning. Strengthen existing programs through national minimum standards, trained teachers and regular evaluation. Teach consent, boundaries, coercive control, manipulation, digital abuse, self-respect and how to seek help.

I learned about healthy boundaries in my forties through a program called Shark Cage. Not every family teaches healthy boundaries. That is exactly why schools must. Society can no longer turn a blind eye to those who disrespect another person's boundaries.

No child should leave school believing control is love, fear is normal, or another person's body belongs to them.

5. SPECIALIST DV OFFICERS AT EVERY STATION — TRAINED TO SEE WHAT IS NOT SPOKEN

Year after year, funding for domestic violence prevention is announced — and year after year, the death toll rises. Money is not the same as competence.

Every police station should have dedicated, specially trained domestic violence officers. Recognising abuse is taught best by those who have survived it, those who begged for help before losing a loved one, and those still living in it. Consult them. Pay them. Learn from them.

This is urgent in Queensland, where the police service has scrapped its specialist domestic and family violence command and declared DFV case management not "core business."

A victim who cannot say the words out loud should never meet an officer who cannot hear them.

WHAT SURVIVORS REALLY WANT

Most survivors are not asking for special treatment.

We are not asking to be hidden away forever.

We are not asking to live in fear.

We are not seeking revenge.

We are asking for something much simpler — just a normal life.

We want to be able to stay in our homes.

We want to sit in our own backyards without scanning every passing car.

We want to walk through a shopping centre without looking over our shoulder.

We want to answer the door without wondering who is standing on the other side.

We want our children to grow up feeling safe.

We want to rebuild our lives instead of constantly trying to survive them.

We want to stop checking locks.

Stop checking windows.

Stop checking court lists.

Stop checking whether someone has been released.

We want to be free from fear.

We want to trust that when danger is known, the system will act before another family is destroyed.

Most of all, we want the freedom that many Australians take for granted:

The freedom to live safely in our own homes.

MAKE THESE DEMANDS MEAN SOMETHING

We demand published deadlines, funded implementation and public reporting, so governments can be judged on what they change, not what they promise.

Every release decision affects real people. Every missed warning has consequences. Every family forced into hiding pays a price.

We Should Not Have To Become A Tragedy Before Our Fear Is Taken Seriously.

I want to be with my children. I want a life without fear. I want to stop looking over my shoulder. I simply want my life back — and to be able to live again. So do countless other survivors.

SO FOR ALL THOSE THE SYSTEM FAILED. FOR ALL THOSE WE LOST, LET'S PROTECT FUTURE GENERATIONS.

Sign.

Share.

Send this to your local Member of Parliament.

Demand action.

Because protection should not begin after another candlelight vigil.

Because no victim should have to disappear to stay alive.

Because every Australian deserves the right to feel safe in their own home.

Give us protection we can rely on.

Give us accountability we can see.

Give us a way home.

And hold those who choose to abuse accountable for their actions. Show them their behaviour will not be tolerated any longer.

Submitted by a survivor of high-risk domestic violence, Queensland. Name withheld for safety.