Courts will be able to set directions about how complainants in sexual assault cases are questioned, under a pilot announced by the NSW Government.
The pilot will begin next year and run until 2030 at the District Courts in Parramatta, Wollongong and Dubbo.
The reforms also include allowing recorded police interviews with complainants and special witnesses as evidence-in-chief for adult sexual assault cases. Currently, these recordings are used for children under 16 and people with a cognitive impairment, as well as in domestic violence prosecutions.
The government has also announced amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 in response to concerns about the use of private counselling records. Under the changes, the communications records of complainants will have to be deemed necessary to be considered by a court.
Attorney General Michael Daley says the reforms will go a long way in reducing trauma for complainants. “Sexual assault complainants and witnesses are especially vulnerable in our justice system,” he says. “We want to help them give their best evidence by ensuring they do not need to tell their story multiple times and deterring inappropriate and irrelevant questioning in court.”
Ground rules hearings already operate in child sexual assault cases in NSW.
Quoted in the government’s media release about the reforms, Women’s Safety Commissioner Dr Hannah Tonkin describes the changes as a positive step towards a more trauma-informed legal process.
“Many sexual assault complainants are required to give detailed evidence years after their assault, and they are often subjected to inappropriate questioning that is of little relevance to the issues in dispute,” says Tonkin. “This takes an immense toll on their wellbeing, healing and recovery.”
In a separate announcement, the government has also unveiled reforms to the appointment of senior next of kin in coronial matters. Coroners will be given discretion to determine the most appropriate senior next of kin, rather than being limited to a fixed hierarchy of spouse, adult children, parents, siblings or executor/legal representative.
A statutory review of the Coroners Act 2009 raised concerns about how senior next of kin are appointed to represent families.