Following International Overdose Awareness Day, Rachel Payne MP has pressed the Minister for Health on whether the government will fund a statewide public health campaign to help prevent accidental overdose deaths in Victoria.
Rachel Payne MP has spoken on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Coercive Control, Good Character, Risk Assessment and Other Matters) Bill 2026, welcoming key reforms while arguing the bill falls short of the whole-of-system change victim-survivors need.
In a Member’s Statement to Parliament, Rachel Payne MP used her time in the chamber to cut through the election-year noise around potholes and corruption. She spoke on an issue she says isn’t getting the attention it deserves — the family violence epidemic. She referenced…
A Family Violence Response Model That Works — Now It Needs Funding Rachel Payne MP is calling on the Victorian Government to fund the statewide expansion of the Alexis Family Violence Response Model (Alexis-FVRM) — a coordinated police and social services approach that’s already delivering…
Taking guidance from a NSW initiative, Rachel asked the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence to establish a publicly accessible database of homicides occurring in the context of an identifiable history of family violence in Victoria.
While Rachel agreed upon the temporary measure to support Victoria Police at a time of police shortage, she reiterated several long-term solutions that would free up police time and resources.
Rachel asked the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence if they will extend the Alexis family violence response model program to the City of Casey.
Rachel presented a member’s statement, reflecting on the 16 days of activism against family and intimate partner violence. She spoke about the tragic murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children by their respective partner and father, with police ignoring multiple reports of violence and abuse until it was too late. Rachel calls on the government to direct their ‘tough on crime’ approach to address the systemic failures that lead to these tragic but preventable consequences.
Rachel spoke on a family violence motion which would create a standalone offence for coercive control. She acknowledged the deeply disturbing prevalence of family and intimate partner violence, and its well-established connection with coercive control. Rachel spoke to the evidence arising from stakeholder consultation and law changes in New South Wales, noting that effectiveness of a standalone offence is contentious and could be underutilised or otherwise cause harmful, unintended consequences.
Rachel second read her private member’s bill, the Summary Offences Amendment (Begging) Bill 2025. If passed, this bill would decriminalise begging in Victoria. Rachel presented the bill’s compatibility with the Human Rights Charter, before speaking to the intersecting factors which cause people to beg for survival. Rachel urges the government to shift from a criminal justice response to begging, to a public health response.
