The South Australian Government will establish a Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

The decision follows a roundtable attended by 30 people including Premier Peter Malinauskas, Ministers, senior public servants, and South Australia Police along with representatives of the domestic and family violence sectors and advocates.

In making the decision, the Government reviewed findings of Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, and Queensland’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in 2021 and 2022.

The review found that while both reports provide valuable insight for next steps, neither provide immediate recommendations which can be implemented in a South Australian context.

The South Australian Government has implemented a range of legislative measures, preventative actions and policies, and recovery options to tackle domestic, family and sexual violence.

The Government will early next year introduce legislation to criminalise coercive control, an insidious and far too often invisible form of domestic and family violence.

The State Government will now work with experts to determine the Terms of Reference for a Royal Commission, to conclude within a 12 month timeframe.

An announcement of the Terms of Reference, and a Royal Commissioner, is expected early next year.

Quotes

Attributable to Peter Malinauskas

The recent deaths experienced in our state were a horrendous reminder of how far our society still has to go in addressing the scourge of domestic violence.

This unfortunate truth is that this problem is not new. Nor is it going away. As a society, we must do better.

In the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with experts and advocates. We have listened carefully to the calls for a Royal Commission.

We conducted our own careful analysis of other inquiries, including the Victorian Royal Commission, before making a considered decision.

I am satisfied that a South Australian Royal Commission is the best course of action we can take to ensure we have the full evidence base to drive the most effective change.

I look forward to the announcement of our Terms of Reference, and the appointment of a Royal Commissioner in the new year.

Attributable to Katrine Hildyard

The recent deaths of women in South Australia and the ongoing prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence is utterly unacceptable, and is a call to further action.

Our Government has heard that call.

We are proud of the innovative work we’ve done so far in prevention, intervention, response, recovery and healing. But we absolutely need to do more.

This commitment is a demonstration of our resolve to make sure that we have the best possible systems in place - to prevent violence before it starts, provide the best possible support for all women, and empower them to walk new journeys, understand and address children’s experiences of domestic violence and tackle gender inequality.

This Royal Commission will create important community discourse and sends an important signal to survivors that they will be heard and to men perpetrating violence that it has no place in our community.

I look forward to working with the sector really quickly to shape the terms of reference to move this Royal Commission forward and to make sure we are driving change.