Submissions & Reports | Full Stop Australia

Submissions & Reports

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Full Stop Australia develops submissions to government inquiries in every Australian jurisdiction to inform policy, practice and law reform impacting upon our clients' safety, justice and wellbeing.

In our consultation processes, we seek feedback from both our frontline trauma specialist counsellors and our clients who have expressed an interest in having their say on the systems and processes impacting upon their own safety.

We do this in partnership with our sector partners, such as the National Association of Services Against Sexual Assault and key state and territory based sexual, domestic and family violence peaks and services who are leading reform efforts in their respective jurisdictions.

Emily Dale is Head of Advocacy and leads the work on all our submissions. If you would like to discuss an issue of policy, practice or law reform, please do not hesitate to contact Emily by email at advocacy@fullstop.org.au

Some of our submissions are subject to cabinet in confidence, but you can access copies of our public submissions below.

2025 - 2026 Submissions

NSW Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Consent Reforms) Submission

Full Stop Australia thanks the NSW Department of Communities and Justice for the opportunity to provide input to the statutory review of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Consent Reforms) Act 2021. Our aim is to contribute to a safer and fairer legal system for everyone. This requires a system that treats victim-survivors of sexual violence with respect, provides them with choice and agency, recognises the harm caused to them and holds all people who use sexual violence to account.

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Social Policy and Legal Affairs Inquiry into the relationship between domestic, family and sexual violence and suicide, January 2026.

Full Stop Australia thanks the Committee for the opportunity to provide a submission for this complex social issue. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with the Committee further and hope this information helps build strengthened understanding of gendered violence and the need for improved integration and coordination to support better outcomes for victim-survivors.

Disclaimer: This public version of the submission has been slightly altered to further de-identify the case studies referenced. A full version of this submission was made to the Inquiry in January 2026.

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Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

Full Stop Australia supports the objectives of keeping perpetrators of sexual, domestic and family violence in view, and enabling police to take timely action to keep people experiencing violence safe.

However, we have concerns about how the framework for police protection directions (PPDs) established by the Bill would operate in practice. These are detailed below. In addition to the points below, we have had the opportunity to review an advance draft of QSAN’s submission on the Bill, and support consideration of the important issues raised in that submission.

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Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

Full Stop Australia supports the policy intent behind amendments in the Bill to qualify the court’s treatment of character when sentencing sexual offenders. These are detailed in the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (QSAC) report, Sentencing of Sexual Assault and Rape: The Ripple Effect (the Report), and include that:

  • The use of character references in sentencing is distressing for victims.
  • Sentencing outcomes for sexual assault and rape offences should reflect the seriousness of these offences, including their impact on victims.
  • Character references can be subjective and contain non-professional opinions, which can undermine perpetrator accountability.
  • Standing in the community generally has no role in assessing a person’s culpability and seriousness of the offending.

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Consultation on draft NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025- 2035

Full Stop Australia supports the Strategy’s vision of building service capacity and aspiring for homelessness to be rare, brief and not repeated in NSW. While the Strategy acknowledges that domestic and family violence are key drivers of homelessness, the Strategy fails to adequately address the experiences of individuals navigating homelessness and their increased risk of sexual violence victimisation.

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NSW Sentencing Council Review of Character in Sentencing

The development of this submission was guided by the lived expertise and tireless advocacy of survivor-advocates Harri James and Jarad Grice—whose Your Reference Aint Relevant campaign provided the impetus for the NSW Sentencing Council’s work. As set out above, Full Stop Australia is committed to centring the experiences of victim-survivors, and firmly believes it is only possible to end sexual, domestic and family violence by listening to the people impacted by it. We thank Harri and Jarad for their advocacy and vision.

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2025-26 Federal Pre-Budget Submission: Support 1800 FULL STOP

Sexual, domestic and family violence in Australia is a national emergency. In recent years, we have seen a spike in domestic and family violence-related homicides and an alarming rise in reported sexual assaults, now at a 31-year high. This situation highlights the urgent need for immediate and effective action.

When other support systems cannot meet demand, 1800 FULL STOP helps bridge the gap.

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Inquiry into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional, and physical health.

Full Stop Australia welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the inquiry on the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional, and physical health (Inquiry).

Pornography captures a wide and diverse array of content. Full Stop Australia agrees with the statement in ANROWS’s submission to this inquiry that, ‘pornography is not inherently harmful; nor is it all the same. Research suggests that questions of “harm” need to consider both what pornography depicts and the nature of an individual’s interaction with it.'

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Executive Summary: Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence.

Full Stop Australia’s submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission made 40 evidence-based recommendations for improving the treatment of victim-survivors of sexual violence engaging with the justice system.

Informed by more than 50 members of Full Stop’s National Survivor Advocate Program (NSAP), our frontline specialist trauma counsellors and clinical leadership team and a review of systems and evidence from around the world, the submission proposed that Australia's justice system was not designed with victim-survivors in mind and largely fails to deliver safety or justice to victims of sexual crimes.

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2025-26 NSW Pre-Budget Submission: Investing in Safety

This pre-budget submission recommends two evidence-based, high impact investments in safety from sexual violence. The need for urgent, transformative change to combat sexual violence is
clear, and these investments are essential to building a society where everyone can feel safe, supported, and empowered.

Investing in nightlife safety and Sexual Violence Justice Navigators will help protect individuals from sexual violence,
provide better support to victim-survivors, and overall, create a safer, more inclusive community.

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