Portfolio — 15 August 2026

The dominant arc for Carrum in this window is a sustained legislative push across justice and planning portfolios, with the Member for Carrum, Ms Kilkenny, driving two major bills through the Assembly while her ministerial media releases reinforced and extended the same reform agenda beyond the chamber.

The most significant parliamentary contribution is the introduction of two substantial pieces of legislation. Ms Kilkenny introduced the Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2026, which creates a civil scheme enabling courts to impose orders on individuals aged 14 and over who have engaged in unacceptable conduct at retail or transport workplaces within the previous 12 months and are likely to do so again [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s045].

Breaches carry a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 penalty units. The Bill's safeguards require courts to weigh respondents' personal circumstances — including cognitive capacity and childhood — and to avoid restricting access to necessary goods or services beyond what is required to prevent recurrence. Ms Kilkenny tabled a statement of treaty compatibility under the Statewide Treaty Act 2025, acknowledging that First Peoples account for over 12 per cent of alleged offenders for relevant offences at retail and transport locations despite comprising less than 2 per cent of the Victorian population [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s044].

She concluded the Bill is nonetheless compatible with the Act's objects, noting that safeguards and judicial discretion will mitigate disproportionate impacts on First Peoples [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s044].

The second bill — the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Coercive Control, Good Character, Risk Assessment and Other Matters) Bill 2026 — represents a broader set of reforms: it criminalises coercive control as a standalone offence, abolishes good character as a mitigating factor in sentencing, expands family violence intervention order jurisdiction, and adds grooming to the list of prohibited behaviours under personal safety intervention order laws [TA-260811-vichns-559d5117f54a:s012].

This assembly speech directly mirrors activity in the media lane: ministerial media releases announced the same family violence reform package, adding that the Equal Opportunity Act will be amended to make subjection to family violence a protected attribute — making discrimination against someone experiencing family violence unlawful — and that the Open Courts Act will be amended to prevent convicted rapists from using suppression orders to conceal their identity [TA-260811-vicmed-7d03b7fb3d17].

The convergence of the Assembly introduction and the ministerial media release on these measures marks them as the most heavily signalled reform cluster in the window.

On planning, ministerial media releases announced the completion of planning controls for all 50 Train and Tram Zones across Victoria, unlocking capacity for around 35,000 additional homes in inner Melbourne and the City of Yarra and fulfilling the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Program — which is projected to enable more than 300,000 homes near trains, trams and jobs by 2051 [TA-260725-vicmed-d3c9f85d1ec7].

A separate announcement under the Development Facilitation Program confirmed 540 homes will be built on Arden Street, North Melbourne, across two buildings of 24 to 37 storeys, with 15 per cent affordable housing and mixed-use retail and commercial spaces [TA-260718-vicmed-34492bdfe10e].

Ms Kilkenny's Assembly contributions also included local community recognition — congratulating school captains from six primary schools within the district, attending the 60th anniversary celebration of Patterson Lakes Canoe Club alongside three associated clubs, and acknowledging the Hindu Society of Victoria's Raksha Bandhan celebration at Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs, specifically recognising Dr Usha Gullapalli as the outgoing president and the first woman to hold that role.

The single third-party reference in this window comes from the adjacent Member for Carrum, Mr Farnham, who used Assembly time to congratulate three community members — Cohen Cogo, Sam Richards, and Ella Clarke — on completing the Kokoda Track alongside him [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s018]. This reference does not engage with the district's primary legislative themes.