A re-elected Victorian Labor government has announced plans to introduce two new offenses in Australia, aimed at addressing what it calls gaps in the legal system that have allowed perpetrators of family violence to avoid punishment. Premier Ben Carroll will formally announce these changes as part of an election commitment. One new offense will cover cases where a person dies by suicide as a result of family violence. The second offense will target perpetrators who abandon victims in need of medical attention, a move prompted by recommendations from a coroner following the deaths of two women, Belinda Jones and Narelle Simmons. Belinda Jones, 40, died in July 2023 after her partner left her alone in their Maryborough home overnight. He waited two hours before calling an ambulance after discovering her body. Jones had suffered from treatable bacterial infections and sepsis, which had not been diagnosed during a prior emergency visit to the hospital. Her partner was not charged in relation to her death. The coroner, Liberty Sanger, stated that abandoning a victim in need of medical care is an act of family violence that reinforces control and instills fear in the victim. Narelle Simmons, 42, died in October 2021 after being assaulted by her partner, who admitted to punching and elbowing her before leaving her home. Her body was found nine days later after her daughter requested a welfare check. While the coroner could not determine the exact time of death, the partner was found guilty of common assault and failing to report a reportable death. He received a five-month prison sentence and a 12-month community corrections order. Sanger noted that the partner had previously been involved with 18 other family violence cases. The Victorian government says the new offenses will close legal loopholes that have allowed perpetrators to escape justice. Additional measures include increasing the maximum penalty for rape from 25 years to life imprisonment and raising penalties for other serious sexual offenses by five years. Penalties for repeated violations of family violence intervention orders will also be doubled, and the standard sentence for murdering a current or former partner will be increased to 30 years. The government also plans to amend the Evidence Act to prevent invasive questioning of victims in court and allow courts to consider patterns of sexual abuse as evidence. These changes follow a week of crime-focused election promises from Premier Carroll, including the creation of a new police training facility and the introduction of Jack’s Law, which would allow officers to stop and search individuals for weapons using metal detectors.