PENALTIES for committing domestic and family violence offences inside the home could increase under changed laws in the ACT.

The Canberra Liberals have drawn together a family violence legislation amendment Bill to the ACT Legislative Assembly on Monday (May 10).

Under current territory legislation, perpetrators of family violence are not judged differently to similar non-family related violent acts and the offence does not carry extra sentencing.

The draft Bill from the ACT opposition will be released for public consultation.

Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee called family violence “abhorrent” in either a domestic or family relationships and an “absolute scourge” in Australian society.

“I firmly believe our laws should reflect what the community deems to be acceptable,” Ms Lee told ABC Canberra radio.

The cornerstone of the proposed amendment is that violence in a domestic setting should be an aggravating factor to increase current maximum penalties.

The Bill included an amendment to the sentencing act to ensure that violent offences inside the family home be a factor of the length of penalties, including longer jail terms.

“Most people would be very concerned to hear where violence has occurred in the domestic and family context, it doesn’t carry any additional seriousness of it as a recognition in the eyes of the law,” Ms Lee said.

The Bill has been passed on to the office of ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury ahead of the next sitting of the Assembly tomorrow.

Ms Lee, who is also the opposition attorney-general, said a close relationship with the ACT Bar Association and the ACT Law Society has shaped its proposed amendment Bill in recognising the “deficiency in the legal system”.

The Bill also proposes greater discretion of sentencing from judges inside ACT courts.

“I am not saying that law is the single answer to preventing and eliminating domestic and family violence, but it is a critical aspect of a part of our response as a society,” she said.

The exposure draft of the Bill welcomes feedback from not only the legal profession, but community organisations that support persons who have been subject to family violence.

“It is also about giving some confidence to the people to speak up that the law is on their side,” Ms Lee said.