Child sex abuse victims will no longer face a time limit on when they can claim for civil damages in Victoria.

New laws being introduced in the Victorian parliament on Tuesday will remove the limitation period for child abuse civil claims.

The attorney general, Martin Pakula, said the limits were complex and often discouraged victims from bringing claims to court.

“Victims should have the right to commence legal action knowing that an expired time limit won’t be used against them to knock their claim out of court,” Pakula said.

The new legislation will be retrospective.

At present, civil claims must be brought within six years of the date the victim realises they have been abused or 12 years from the date of the alleged abuse.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, said with Australia’s first royal commission into family violence starting in Victoria this week, the time was right to fix the system.

“It’s a crisis. The biggest law-and-order challenge is unfolding in our homes,” he told News Corp. “If we settle just doing more of the same, then I think we will have more of the same.”

He said the royal commission would look at making intervention orders easier to get, give police extra powers to enforce them and look at whether jail terms for breaching family violence intervention orders are adequate.