Welcome to the Justice and Community Safety Committee homepage. This committee examines matters relating to law, justice, human rights and emergency services.  It is also responsible for electoral matters and integrity in public administration.

Committee members

Chair
Deputy Chair

Contact the committee

You can contact the committee by email LACommitteeJCS@parliament.act.gov.au or by calling the Committee Secretary, Ms Kathleen de Kleuver on (02) 6207 0524.

We're inviting suggestions for future inquiry topics! Ideas from all individuals and organisations across the community are welcome. Please get in contact with your ideas.

Read our media release ● Email us ● Call (02) 6207 0524.

Resolution of establishment

The Assembly resolved to establish a standing committee on Justice and Community Safety on 2 December 2020. Please click here to view the current resolution and previous amendments.

The committee is responsible for examining the following areas:

  • ACT Electoral Commission
  • ACT Integrity Commission
  • ACT Ombudsman
  • Gaming
  • Minister of State (Justice and Community Safety reporting areas)
  • Emergency management and the Emergency Services Agency
  • Policing and ACT Policing
  • Corrective services
  • Attorney-General
  • Consumer affairs
  • Human rights
  • Victims of crime
  • Access to justice and restorative practice
  • Public Trustee and Guardian

Resolution of establishment for the committee

Click on the title of an inquiry to be taken through to its dedicated sub-page. Click here to find which committee inquiries are currently open for submission.

Inquiry Date startedStatus

Inquiry into Immediate Trauma Support Services in the ACT

18 October 2023 (self-referred)Ongoing
Inquiry into Cashless Gaming in the ACT3 July 2023 (self-referred)Ongoing
27. Inquiry Into Annual and Financial Reports 2022-202324 October 20239 April 2024 (Completed)
26. Inquiry into the Integrity Commission Amendment Bill 2022 (No 2)28 October 202221 March 2024 (Completed)
25. Inquiry into the Sexual, Family and Personal Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 20238 November 202313 March 2024 (Completed)
24. Inquiry into the Parentage (Surrogacy) Amendment Bill 20238 November 202313 March 2024 (Completed)
23. Inquiry into the Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 20238 November 202313 March 2024 (Completed)
22. Inquiry into the Human Rights (Healthy Environment) Amendment Bill 20238 November 202325 January 2024 (completed)
21. Inquiry into Gaming Machine Amendment Bill 20236 September 202328 November 2023 (Completed)
20. Inquiry into Penalties for Minor Offences and Vulnerable People1 March 2023 (self-referred)26 October 2023 (Completed)
19. Inquiry into  Electoral and Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 20233 July 202324 August 2023 (Completed)
18. Inquiry into Justice (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Legislation Amendment Bill 202322 May 202314 July 2023 (Completed)
17. Inquiry into Supreme Court Amendment Bill 202322 May 202310 July 2023 (Completed)
16. Inquiry into Dangerous Driving4 August 2022 (self- referred)20 April 2023 (Completed)
15. Inquiry into Annual and Financial Reports 2021-2213 October 20229 March 2023 (completed)
14. Inquiry into the Corrections and Sentencing Legislation Amendment Bill 20227 December 202223 February 2023 (Completed)
13. Inquiry into Road Safety and Crimes Legislation Amendment Bills 202228 November 202222 February 2023 (Completed)
12. Inquiry into the Freedom of Information Amendment Bills 202229 September 20227 February 2023
(Completed)
11. Inquiry into Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (No 2)28 November 202223 December 2022
(Completed)
10. Inquiry into the Sexual Assault Reform Legislation Amendment Bill 202212 October 20227 December 2022
(Completed)
9. Inquiry into Community Corrections16 June 2021 (self-referred)27 July 2022 (Completed)
8. Inquiry into Terrorism (Extraordinary Temporary Powers) Amendment Bill 202211 May 202223 June 2022 (Completed)
7. Inquiry into Petition 32-21 (No Rights Without Remedy)2 February 202223 June 2022 (Completed)
6.Inquiry into Annual and Financial Reports 2020-2021Inquiry undertaken pursuant to clause 3 (A) of Resolution of Establishment passed by the Assembly on 2 December 2020 (and amended on 16 September 2021).20 May 2022 (Completed)
5. Inquiry into Family Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 202214 February 202214 April 2022 (Completed)
4. Inquiry into Electoral Amendment Bill 20218 December 202118 February 2022 (Completed)
3. Inquiry into ACT Budget 2021-226 October 202112 November 2021 (Completed)
2. Inquiry into the 2020 ACT Election and the Electoral Act2 December 20205 August 2021 (Completed)
1. Annual and Financial Reports 2019-2020; Appropriation Bill 2020-2021 and Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2020-2021Inquiries undertaken pursuant to clause 3 and 7 of Resolution of Establishment passed by the Assembly on 2 December 2020 (and amended on 11 February 2021). 30 March 2021 (Completed)

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Referred Bills

All bills presented to the Assembly are referred to the relevant standing committee for consideration under Standing Order 174.

The committee must advise the Speaker of its decision to inquire into a bill within three weeks of its presentation to the Assembly, or one week after the relevant scrutiny report is tabled (whichever is later).

Where the committee inquiries into a bill, it must complete its report within three months of the bill’s presentation in the Assembly, except bills presented in the last sitting period of each year where the committee must report within four months of the bill’s presentation.

Below is a list of all bills considered by the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety during the 10th Assembly.

Referred BillDate
presented and referred		Outcome
Crimes (Sentence Administration) Amendment Bill 202411 April 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 18 April 2024.
Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Amendment Bill 202411 April 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 18 April 2024.
Crimes (Disclosure) Legislation Amendment Bill 202410 April 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 18 April 2024.
Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 20249 April 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 18 April 2024.
Gaming Machine (Compulsory Surrender) Amendment Bill 202421 March 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 27 March 2024.
Crimes (Sentencing)Amendment Bill 202420 March 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 27 March 2024.
Human Rights Commission (Child Safe Standards) Amendment Bill 202419 March 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 27 March 2024.
Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 20247 February 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 14 February 2024.
Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 20247 February 2024Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 14 February 2024.
Liquor Amendment Bill 202329 November 2023 Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 6 December 2023
Sexual, Family and Personal Violence Amendment Bill 20232 November 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 8 November 2023.
Parentage (Surrogacy) Amendment Bill 202331 October 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 8 November 2023.
Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 202326 October 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 8 November 2023.
Human Rights (Healthy Environment) Amendment Bill 202326 October 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 8 November 2023.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 202321 September 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 11 October 2023.
Human Rights (Complaints) Legislation Amendment Bill 202320 September 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 11 October 2023.
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 202320 September 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 11 October 2023.
Sentencing (Drug and Alcohol Treatment Orders) Legislation Amendment Bill 202331 August 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 6 September 2023.
Gaming Machine Amendment Bill 202331 August 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 6 September 2023.
Victims of Crime Amendment Bill 202323 August 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 6 September 2023.
Electoral and Road Safety legislation Amendment Bill 202329 June 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 3 July 2023.
Bail Amendment Bill 202328 June 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 3 July 2023.
Courts Legislation Amendment Bill 202327 June 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 3 July 2023.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 202311 May 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 19 May 2023.
Supreme Court Amendment Bill 202310 May 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 19 May 2023.
Justice (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Legislation Amendment Bill 20239 May 2023Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 19 May 2023.
Gaming Machine (Club Refuge) Amendment Bill 20221 December 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 7 December 2022.
Corrections and Sentencing Legislation Amendment Bill 202230 November 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 7 December 2022, committee report released 23 February 2023.
Discrimination Amendment Bill 202230 November 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 7 December 2022.
Residential Tenancies Legislation Amendment Bill 202230 November 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 7 December 2022.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (No.2)24 November 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 28 November 2022, committee report released 23 December 2022.
Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 202223 November 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 28 November 2022, committee report released 22 February 2023.
Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 202223 November 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 28 November 2022, committee report released 22 February 2023
Integrity Commission Amendment Bill 2022 (No 2)20 October 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 27 October 2022.
Sexual Assault Reform Legislation Amendment Bill 202211 October 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 12 October 2022, committee report released 7 December 2022.
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 202221 September 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 29 September 2022.
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2022 [No 2]21 September 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 29 September 2022.
Guardianship and Management of Property Amendment Bill 202221 September 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 29 September 2022.
Integrity Commission Amendment Bill 20229 June 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 15 June 2022.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 20229 June 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 15 June 2022.
Statute Law Amendment Bill 20222 June 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 6 June 2022.
Terrorism (Extraordinary Temporary Powers) Amendment Bill 20225 May 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 11 May 2022, committee report released 23 June 2022.
Fair Trading and other Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 20227 April 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 13 April 2022.
Family Violence Legislation Amendment Bill 202210 February 2022Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 14 February 2022, committee report released 14 April 2022.
Crimes (Consent) Amendment Bill 20228 February 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 14 February 2022.
Electoral Amendment Bill 20211 December 2021Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry 8 December 2021, committee report released 18 February 2022.
Crimes (Policing) Legislation Amendment Bill 20211 December 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 8 December 2021.
Correction Management Amendment Bill 25 November  2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 8 December 2021.

Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2021

11 November 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 17 November 2021.

Emergencies Amendment Bill 2021

9 November 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 17 November 2021

Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Amendment Bill 2021 (No 2)

9 November 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 17 November 2021.

Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Amendment Bill 2021

9 November 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 17 November 2021.
Operational Efficiencies (COVID-19) Legislation Amendment Bill 202116 September 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 22 September 2021.
Bail Amendment Bill 20215 August 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 11 August 2021.
COVID-19 Emergency Response (Check-in Information) Amendment Bill4 August 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 11 August 2021.
Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 202124 June 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 30 June 2021.
Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 202112 May 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 24 May 2021.
Crimes (Stealthing) Amendment Bill 202122 April 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 28 April 2021.
Statute Law Amendment Bill20 April 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 28 April 2021.
Courts and Other Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 202120 April 2021Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 28 April 2021.
Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 20202 December 2020Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 8 December 2020.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 20202 December 2020Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 8 December 2020.

Referred Petitions

Pursuant to Standing Order 99A—a petition or e-petition with at least 500 signatories from residents/citizens of the Australian Capital Territory shall be referred to the relevant Assembly standing committee for consideration. In the event that the subject matter of the Petition makes it unclear which committee it should be referred to, the Speaker will determine the appropriate committee.

Referred Petitions Date
Presented and referred		Outcome
Petition E-Pet-006-24 and Pet-12-24 - Crime in Watson9 April 2024TBC
Petition 027-23— Remove the Provision of Good Character References for Paedophiles in the Sentencing Procedure of Chile Sexual Abuse Cases6 February 2024

Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry 14 February 2024. However, the Committee will wait for the government response to the Petition and may at that stage, decide to conduct a self-referred inquiry on this matter depending on the government response.

Petition 006-23— A new police station and increased police resources for Gungahlin district9 May 2023Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry into the Petitions on 6 September 2023.
Petitions 23-22, 24-22 and 25-22—ACT Judiciary appointment and performance review and sentencing guidelines11 October 2022Committee resolved not to undertake an inquiry into the Petitions on 13 October 2022. The Committee is addressing these areas in the Inquiry into Dangerous Driving.
Petition No 32-21—a mechanism to enable citizens to seek conciliation and resolution of complaints where human rights have been breached by ACT Government bodies or services providers23 November 2021Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry into the Petition on 2 February 2022, committee report released 23 June 2022.
Petition No 24-20—Call on the ACT Government to withdraw all public funding from Thoroughbred Park 2 December 2020  
Related documentsPDF
Petition No 24-20—Letter from Minister Steel

237 KB PDF

 

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