Minister's name Hon Jill Hennessy
Portfolios Attorney-General
Minister for Workplace Safety
Did the minister's spouse accompany the minister in an official capacity? No
Accompanying ministerial staff Chief of Staff
Countries visited England and Scotland
Dates of Travel 1 August to 10 August 2019
Number of official travel days (including day of departure and day of return) 10 days
Funding source  Department of Justice and Community Safety
Air fares (including taxes and fees) $29,799.44
Accommodation (including taxes and fees) $11,678.67
Other expenses (including surface travel and travel allowances) $3,200.67
Travel cost for Minister and ministerial staff  $44,678.78*

*The above costs are not final and complete

Purpose of travel

The purpose of my travel to the United Kingdom, specifically England and Scotland was to meet with senior officials, agencies and experts on a range of policy matters that are closely aligned with my Attorney-General and Workplace Safety portfolios. 

Victoria and the United Kingdom share many commonalities with respect to the architecture of its justice systems and indeed the regulatory model in place to protect workplace safety – and across both systems are dealing with many shared challenges and embarking upon similar reforms. 

Given the strength of the relationship between jurisdictions forged over successive governments across many years, I was able to establish and strengthen a number of partnerships with government and non-government representatives to gain further understanding of relevant issues in England and Scotland, and identify opportunities for collaboration and reform for the benefit of the Victorian people and economy.

Itinerary

In seven days on the ground, I travelled to three cities across the United Kingdom (London, Liverpool and Edinburgh) for 17 meetings with policy experts, executives, academics, prosecutors, judicial officers, Commissioners, union leaders, civil servants, CEOs, and NGOs across the justice and occupational health and safety sectors. 

Below are the highlights of activities in the United Kingdom:

In London, I met with the Director and Deputy Director of the Centre for Justice Innovation and Centre for Court Innovation. The Centre for Court Innovation conceives, plans, and operates programs that seek to test new ideas, solve difficult problems, and achieve system change. Projects discussed include:

  • community-based violence prevention,
  • alternatives to incarceration,
  • re-entry initiatives; and
  • court-based programs that reduce the use of unnecessary incarceration.

The Centre for Justice Innovation champions practice innovation and evidence-led policy reform in the UK's justice systems. They:

  • identify, design, support and spread innovative practice to solve problems and test new ideas.
  • promote evidence and innovative practice in justice policy reform, helping policymakers remove the barriers to innovation experienced by practitioners.
  • share ideas and practice across jurisdictions, especially through our unique partnership with the Centre for Court Innovation.

Discussion focused on these projects and initiatives, and how some of the Centre's work could be incorporated into the Victoria’s work in these areas.

Also in London, I met with Victoria Roper who is a Senior Lecturer completing her PhD on the UK’s corporate manslaughter laws. Her article "The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – A Ten Year Review" was published in the Journal of Criminal Law 2018. The article discussed the following issues:

  • the number of cases prosecuted for corporate manslaughter being lower than predicted (to date, there have been 32 prosecutions brought and 26 convictions in England and Wales since the introduction of the corporate manslaughter offence in 2008), and the size of companies being prosecuted;
  • difficulties satisfying the 'senior management' test; and
  • plea bargaining assisting companies and individuals to escape liability and the inconsistency of fine amounts.
  • The Victorian Government has committed to introduce a workplace manslaughter offence to hold corporations and officers liable for negligent conduct causing the death of an employee or member of the public. Ms Roper's insight was very beneficial and has already informed future legislation in this space.

I met with the Special Crime Division (York Unit) and the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service where I discussed their corporate manslaughter laws, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, judge alone trials and wage theft.

With the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, I gained insights on their research on crystalline silica, their approach to using research to determine appropriate injury compensation and to understand how provisional approaches in the United Kingdom could inform influence reforms in Victoria for a variety of injuries or illnesses.

Still on the theme of occupational health and safety, I met with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). From this meeting I was able to understand how the RoSPA, as a non-government body, takes a leading role in industrial and service redesign prioritising workplace safety and accident prevention, and how the RoSPA’s approach in changing employers’ and community values around workplace safety and accident prevention. These discussions will assist in informing how Victoria can to utilise workplaces as a driver of change to implement upcoming reforms in workplace safety portfolio.

I met with Dame Vera Baird QC, the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, and the CEO of the Office. The meeting focused on issues such as:

  • learnings from the recent reviews conducted on victim compensation, intermediaries, restorative justice and victims' personal statements;
  • how the Commissioner works with government and performs her role to improve services and systems' accountability; and
  • the United Kingdom's approach to supporting families who have lost loved ones in workplace incidents, which was instructive in informing Victoria's families and victims’ reform agenda.

Building on the meeting with the Special Crime Division and the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, I met with the Chair of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. In this meeting I discussed with the Chair his views on the sentencing guidelines council model, corporate manslaughter and corporate criminal offending. The Chair provided a fantastic insight into the Sentencing Council’s operations and its work program in supporting the judiciary with guidance to drive methodical consistency in sentencing.

I also appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Trade Union Congress to discuss a   range of workplace safety matters, including their collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive (a WorkSafe equivalent), and industry.

My final meeting in London was with the Legal Aid Agency. There is a potential opportunity for a reciprocal interjurisdictional arrangement to be established to allow for information sharing on key initiatives such as the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime – this was strongly supported by the Agency. We also discussed the complexity of legal representation given broader austerity measures in the United Kingdom, and strategies the Agency employed to mitigate any negative impact.

In Liverpool, I met with the Acting Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a large contingent of the executive team of the agency. The wide-ranging meeting covered issues such as the HSE’s approach to managing major hazards in the context of Victoria’s recent industrial fires and proposed reforms to the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 (External link), and the HSE’s views on the effectiveness of Corporate Manslaughter as a preventive measure. While structurally different, as the United Kingdom’s government agency that regulates health and safety at work, HSE was able to provide a valuable insight into many of the same issues faced by WorkSafe in the Victorian context.

In Edinburgh, I met with the Scottish Sentencing Council. Building on the meeting in London with the Sentencing Council of England and Wales, we discussed the key differences between the two jurisdictions across the United Kingdom and contextualised the issues with similar issues in Victoria.

I met with Community Justice Scotland to discuss how it works to divert offenders from the justice system and reduce the risk of those released from prison from returning to it. Discussion focused openly on the successes, difficulties and problems faced by Community Justice Scotland and opportunities for knowledge exchange with Victoria. I am eager to ensure that Victoria can learn from and draw upon the best practice of the organisation, particularly regarding broader efforts to divert individuals from the justice system.

Also in Edinburgh, I met with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. In this meeting I sought to understand:

  • the key features of the victims’ compensation scheme in the United Kingdom, in particular the streamlining of applications for victims of sexual assault, and how these could inform improvements to Victoria’s Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal and WorkCover schemes;
  • the Authority’s approach to supporting families who have lost loved ones in workplace incidents, including compensatory arrangements and ancillary support services; and
  • key learnings associated with the creation of an administrative model for financial assistance for victims of crime.

The meeting provided some fantastic insights and will support the development of reforms already announced by the Victorian Government in response to the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act.

Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria

Through my travel to the United Kingdom, I met with industry experts, researchers and academics, judicial officers, regulators and workers’ representatives, as well as government and non-government officials and leaders and discussed the challenges and opportunities faced in both the United Kingdom and Victoria – vital insights that will lead to significant reforms across both my Attorney-General and Workplace Safety portfolios. 

Through these discussions I developed valuable relationships, encouraging future knowledge exchange, whilst discussing current complex issues to further benefit Victorians. The Department of Justice and Community Safety will continue these discussions, to ensure these ongoing relationships are maintained and can be leveraged in support of the development of reforms to laws and practice in Victoria.

As evidenced by our longstanding working relationship, England and Scotland face many similar challenges to those experienced in Victoria, and the opportunity to learn from their past and proposed reforms has been invaluable. In particular, the UK’s approach to workplace safety including the introduction of corporate manslaughter laws, and common challenges such as the regulation of dangerous goods, effective monitoring and responses to dust related diseases and the changing nature of work and what it means for how we ensure workers are safe and supported. 

Meetings with a wide range of legal experts, agencies and judicial officers in England and Scotland were insightful and will certainly feed into consideration around reforms to our court system to improve fairness, efficiency and consistency. 

Next Steps

There has already been engagement, and the Department of Justice and Community Safety will continue to engage in a range of follow up activities with a number of the agencies and individuals met with while in the United Kingdom. This includes preparation for any reciprocal visits that may ensue following the visit. 

The department will work with agencies and individuals to investigate potential strategies, schemes and programs delivered in the United Kingdom that could be applied to the local context, and their likely success. 

As various pieces of reform and legislation are developed and progressed in Victoria, further targeted engagement with a range of the content experts I met with during the visit will be undertaken.