Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (15:53): In reply: I thank all members who contributed to debate on the Victims Legislation Amendment (Victims Registers) Bill 2025: the members representing the electorates of Terrigal, Prospect, Orange, Bankstown, Penrith, North Shore, Fairfield and Granville. This bill marks another critical step in the New South Wales Government's commitment to improving our justice system and supporting victim-survivors as we create a safer New South Wales. This bill will legislate a new requirement for agencies who administer the Victims Register to proactively notify the victims of certain serious offenders of their right to be on the register and access the benefits it offers.
This will give victims greater peace of mind and the support for safety planning that they deserve. I am proud to deliver a bill that achieves a careful and appropriate balance between victims' desire for more information and awareness of the Victims Register with concerns about retaining victims' privacy, agency and consent. I thank the shadow Minister for Corrections for his support of the bill. I am glad that the shadow Minister for Corrections and the member for the North Shore recognise the importance of these reforms, which address a current gap in the system and give the best support to victim-survivors. I also thank the member for Orange for his contribution to the debate. While he acknowledged that the matters he raised are beyond the scope of this bill, I applaud him for his ongoing and dedicated advocacy for victim-survivors.
These reforms show that the New South Wales Government takes its responsibility to better protect community safety and support victims of crime seriously. This includes responding to calls for improvements to the systems in place to support those affected by the heinous and deplorable offences that sometimes can unfortunately take place in our State. I thank the many individual victims and victim support and advocacy groups that have contributed to the development of this bill. In particular, I thank Samantha Barlow, a former police officer and victim-survivor, and her husband, Laurence Barlow, for their extraordinarily brave advocacy for victim-survivors and for the invaluable advice they provided throughout the consultation process.
I thank longstanding and dedicated victim advocates, Howard Brown and Martha Jabour, for their generous expert advice and contributions to the bill. I also thank staff from the Department of Communities and Justice and Corrective Services NSW who have supported the development of the bill, including Luke Grant and his team, Sarah Cumming, Claudia Daly, Stephanie Parsons and Rebekah Hitchenson. Lastly, I thank my staff for their dedication to this important reform, including Constance Piperides, Alicia Sylvester, Brooke O'Rourke, and departmental liaison officers Brenna Lorkin and Laura Dewberry. I commend the bill to the House.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Jason Li): The question is that this bill be now read a second time.
Motion agreed to.
Third Reading
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG: I move:
That this bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to.
