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Victorian Labor promises new offences to close domestic and family violence ‘loopholes’

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correspondent, B. K. V. s. (2026, September 19). Victorian Labor promises new offences to close domestic and family violence ‘loopholes’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/20/victorian-labor-promises-new-offences-to-close-domestic-and-family-violence-loopholes-ntwnfb

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The Guardian · collected 2026-09-19 · by Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent
Content note This article describes sexual violence and abuse of a child.

Quick Summary

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll announced that a re-elected Labor government will introduce two new offences: one for manslaughter when family violence leads to suicide, and another where abandoning a victim needing medical care is considered an act of family violence. These measures follow recommendations from the coroner's investigation into the deaths of Belinda Jones and Narelle Simmons, who both died after experiencing severe neglect or abuse by their partners without facing serious legal consequences for those involved. The government aims to close perceived legal loopholes that allow perpetrators to escape punishment and will also increase penalties for rape and other sexual offenses.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A re-elected Victorian Labor government plans to introduce two new Australian-first offenses aimed at addressing "loopholes" in domestic and family violence laws. Premier Ben Carroll announced on Sunday that one offense will cover cases where someone's suicide results from family violence, while another targets perpetrators who abandon victims needing medical care. These measures come in response to the deaths of Belinda Jones and Narelle Simmons, particularly focusing on Jones' death in July 2023 after her partner left her without aid overnight. The coroner recommended that abandoning a victim requiring medical attention should be treated as an act of violence, which Labor's new legislation seeks to address.

Written for “Domestic Violence Legislation Update …” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Domestic Violence Legislation Update …
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles describe different legislative measures proposed by Victorian Labor, one focusing on new offences for family violence and another on tougher penalties for rape and sexual offences.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2937 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Datacentres in Victoria will be banned in residential areas and required to use renewable energy and contribute to the community, under new state government rules.
🔮 A re-elected Victorian Labor government will create two new Australian-first offences aimed at closing “loopholes” it says have allowed perpetrators of family violence to escape punishment.
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Also by Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent →

Topics

Australian Cranbourne Labor Maryborough Victorian

Subjects

Carroll PERSON · 2× Jones PERSON · 2× Labor ORG · 2× Victorian NORP · 2× Australian NORP · 1× Belinda Jones PERSON · 1× Ben Carroll PERSON · 1× Liberty Sanger PERSON · 1× Maryborough GPE · 1× Narelle Simmons PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“I’m a tough-on-crime premier – and that means being tough on family and sexual violence,” Carroll said in a statement ahead of Sunday’s announcement. “We must act on the violence that is killing a Victorian woman every two weeks.” The Coalition last year committed to Jack’s Law and also have plans to expand adult sentencing for youth offenders, increase police numbers and split the existing court of appeal into two separate entities, if elected in November.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 A re-elected Victorian Labor government will create two new Australian-first offences aimed at closing “loopholes” it says have allowed perpetrators of family violence to escape punishment.

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

A re-elected Victorian Labor government will create two new Australian-first offences aimed at closing “loopholes” it says have allowed perpetrators of family violence to escape punishment. asserted
perpetrators → re → punishment
On Sunday, the premier, Ben Carroll, will announce an election commitment to legislate a new form of manslaughter covering cases in which a person takes their own life as a result of family violence, as well as a new offence covering perpetrators abandoning a victim in need of medical care. asserted
person → announce → care
The latter responds to recommendations made by the coroner after the deaths of Belinda Jones and Narelle Simmons. asserted
latter → respond → Jones
Jones, 40, died on the floor of her Maryborough home in July 2023 after her partner left her there overnight and then waited two hours to call an ambulance after waking to find her cold and not breathing. asserted
her → die → ambulance
Jones had succumbed to treatable bacterial infections and sepsis, which a hospital failed to diagnose during an emergency presentation days earlier. asserted
hospital → succumb → presentation
Her partner was not charged with any offence in relation to her death. asserted
partner → charge → death
In her findings published last month, the state coroner, Liberty Sanger, said: “In my view, the act of abandoning a victim of family violence requiring medical attention is an act of family violence, that instils fear in the victim and affirms a perpetrator’s control over the victim.” asserted
that → publish → victim
Simmons, 42, died in October 2021 after her partner admitted to punching her twice in the face and elbowing her once in the back of the head before leaving her Cranbourne home. Her body was found nine days later after her daughter requested a welfare check. asserted
daughter → die → check
Sanger was unable to determine whether she died immediately after the assault or hours or days later. asserted
she → determine → assault
Her partner – whom the coroner said had 18 previous family violence victims – pleaded guilty to common assault and failing to report a reportable death. asserted
coroner → say → death
He was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment and a 12-month community corrections order. asserted
He → sentence → imprisonment
The government’s media release said the two new offences would close “loopholes” that allow perpetrators to “slip through the cracks in the justice system and walk free”. asserted
perpetrators → say → system
The government has also committed to increasing the maximum penalty for rape from 25 years to life imprisonment and upping the maximum penalty for every other serious sexual offence by five years. asserted
government → commit → years
The maximum penalty for persistent breaches of family violence intervention orders would also double from five years’ imprisonment to 10. asserted
penalty → double → 10
It will also make the standard sentence for the murder of a current or former partner 30 years – up from 25. asserted
It → make → 25
Labor will amend the Evidence Act to prevent barristers from using humiliating and invasive questioning techniques on victim-survivors in court. asserted
Labor → amend → court
Courts would also be able to consider patterns of sexual abuse as evidence at trial. asserted
Courts → consider → trial
The announcement follows a week of crime-focused election commitments from Carroll, including creating a new police training facility in Melbourne’s western suburbs and the introduction of Jack’s Law, which would give police and protective services officers the power to stop and search people for knives using handheld metal detectors. asserted
which → follow → detectors
“I’m a tough-on-crime premier – and that means being tough on family and sexual violence,” Carroll said in a statement ahead of Sunday’s announcement. “We must act on the violence that is killing a Victorian woman every two weeks.” The Coalition last year committed to Jack’s Law and also have plans to expand adult sentencing for youth offenders, increase police numbers and split the existing court of appeal into two separate entities, if elected in November. asserted
Coalition → ’m → November
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