Sexual Violence and Family Violence Sentencing Reforms

Labor commitment, announced on 20 September 2026 by Premier Ben Carroll with Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, to change sentencing and evidence law if re-elected. The stated package includes a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for rape; a five-year increase to maximum penalties for all serious sexual offences; a standard sentence of 30 years for the murder of a partner, up from 25 years; a new offence criminalising the abandonment of a family violence victim who needs urgent medical care; a new manslaughter offence covering abusers whose conduct drives a partner to take their own life; amendments to the Evidence Act allowing courts to consider an accused person's prior history of sexual abuse; and restrictions on cross-examination techniques the government describes as humiliating and invasive. The government cited the cases of Narelle Simmons (2021) and Belinda Jones (2023), both involving abandonment, as prompting the abandonment offence. No costing was published with the announcement. Response: Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the reforms had come too late and that family violence incidents had risen 30 per cent over the past decade, which she argued showed the government had not delivered on earlier commitments.