Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered ActsAt the end of Division 3 of Part 4 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 insert —
(1) In a proceeding for a family violence intervention order or the variation or revocation of a family violence intervention order the Children's Court may order the Secretary to provide an assessment report in respect of a respondent or an affected family member or protected person.
(2) The Children's Court must not make an order under subsection (1) unless the person in respect of whom the report will be prepared—
(a) if that person is a child, has legal representation; and
(b) in any case, consents to the making of the order.
If the Children's Court orders the Secretary to submit an assessment report, the registrar at the venue of the Court at which the order is made must, within one working day after the making of the order—
(a) orally notify him or her of the making of the order; and
(b) forward a copy of the order to him or her.
The author of an assessment report must at the beginning of any interview being conducted by him or her in the course of preparing the report inform the person being interviewed that any information that he or she gives may be included in the report.
(1) If any matter in an assessment report is disputed by the person who is the subject of the report, the Children's Court must not take the disputed matter into consideration when deciding whether to make a family violence intervention order unless satisfied that the matter is true on the balance of probabilities.
(2) If—
(a) an assessment report, or any part of it, is disputed by the person who is the subject of the report; and
(b) the author of the report does not attend the hearing of the proceeding despite having been required to attend under section 73G(1)—
the Children's Court must not take the report or the part in dispute into consideration when determining the proceeding unless the person consents to the report or the part in dispute being admitted into evidence.
An assessment report must include—
(a) the matters that the Children's Court considers relevant to the proceeding, including any psychological or psychiatric assessment of the person who is the subject of the report; and
(b) any other matter that the Children's Court directs to be included.
(1) If the Children's Court orders the Secretary to submit an assessment report to the court, he or she must do so within 21 days and not less than 3 working days before the hearing.
(2) If the Secretary is of the opinion that information contained in the report will be or may be prejudicial to the physical or mental health of the person who is the subject of the report, the Secretary may forward a statement to the Children's Court to that effect with the report.
(1) The author of an assessment report ordered under section 73A may be required to attend to give evidence at the hearing of the proceeding by a notice given in accordance with subsection (2) by—
(a) the person in respect of whom the report has been prepared; or
(b) with the leave of the court, a party to the proceeding; or
(c) the Children's Court.
(2) A notice under subsection (1) must be—
(a) in writing; and
(b) filed with the appropriate registrar at the proper venue of the court as soon as possible and, if practicable, not later than 2 working days before the hearing.
(3) On the filing of a notice under subsection (1), the registrar must immediately notify the author of the report that his or her attendance is required on the return date.
(4) A person is guilty of contempt of court if, being the author of a report who has been required to attend the Children's Court under subsection (1), he or she fails, without sufficient excuse, to attend as required.
(5) The author of a report who has been required under subsection (1) by the person or a party to attend at the hearing of a proceeding—
(a) must, if required by the person or party (as the case requires), be called as a witness; and
(b) if called as a witness, may be cross-examined on the contents of the report by the person or a party, whether or not that person required the author of the report to attend.
(1) The Children's Court may impose conditions on access to an assessment report, including conditions about who can access the report or part of the report.
(2) Subject to any contrary direction by the court, a person who prepares or receives or otherwise is given or has access to an assessment report, or any part of such a report, must not, without the consent of the person who is the subject of the report, disclose any information contained in that report or part report (as the case requires) to any person who is not entitled to receive or have access to that report or that part (as the case requires).
Penalty: 10 penalty units.
(3) A reference in this section to a report includes a reference to a copy of a report.".