$184.1m budget push 'does not touch the sides' of demand, DV body says

Delia Donovan says years of chronic underfunding is stretching DV services in regional and remote NSW. (ABC News: Abubakr Sajid) Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW) is warning regional and remote services remain critically underfunded and under pressure. The peak body says the government's $184.1 million investment will stabilise frontline services but will not eliminate long waiting lists. DVNSW is calling for more funding for specialist refuges and long-term justice reforms to better identify coercive control and prevent homicides. Link copiedShareShare articleFunding for women escaping domestic and family violence is "not even touching the sides" of demand in regional and remote NSW, according to the state's peak body. Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW) said the state government's recent $184.1 million investment in specialist services was a significant step, but not a "breakthrough moment". CEO Delia Donovan said collaboration between the sector and government was positive, and the funding would address years of chronic underfunding. "It's important that we recognise [the funding] over four years … is a staggered response, it's a stabilising response," Ms Donovan said. Ms Donovan says the funding will stabilise frontline services but not address long-term needs. (ABC News: Berge Breiland) The government said the investment was designed to stabilise services, expand capacity and fund additional specialist workers. Regional NSW experiences higher rates of domestic violence homicides, according to the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team (DVDRT). Ms Donovan said services in those areas faced unique pressures, including barriers to accessing housing and transport. "Regional services alone … need two times more funding, and in a remote organisation they need nine times more funding than a metro service." Ms Donovan said despite this, services have continued to be chronically underfunded. "They've had to be so creative and innovative to actually do the work on the ground, and we want to see more of that, but actually properly funded," Ms Donovan said. The NSW government has committed $184.1 million over four years. (ABC News: Floss Adams) The NSW government said the latest budget commitment was the biggest increase in core funding for specialist domestic violence services in decades. It included funding across six frontline programs, including $76.1 million for the Safer Pathways program and $54 million for programs helping women and children remain safely in their homes after violence, and intensive case management for high-risk families. The Australian Services Union NSW and ACT, representing domestic violence support workers, said the funding would make a difference to efforts to meet "overwhelming demand with funding levels set more than a decade ago". DVNSW — which represents more than 200 organisations across the state — is still calling for increased investment in specialist refuges, which was not included in the budget. "We know huge amounts have been done by the government to ensure there's an increase to social housing, but women and children that are homeless right now need a specialist response," Ms Donovan said. "It means we need to ensure we're funding refuges to do that specialist crisis emergency work that saves lives." Ms Donovan is calling for more investment in specialist refuges. (ABC News: Berge Breiland) Nearly one-third of all homicides in NSW involve a known history of domestic violence, and more than half of those deaths are the result of current or former intimate partner violence, according to NSW DVDRT. Ms Donovan said investment alone would not prevent domestic violence killings without broader reform across the justice system. Tools to keep domestic violence victims safe slammed by murder victim's mother. She said apprehended violence orders (AVOs) remained an important protective tool, but warned it was only one part of the response. "We know we can't arrest our way out of domestic and family violence," she said. Ms Donovan said the justice system needed to better recognise patterns of coercive control, arguing perpetrators who present as "low to medium risk" are often able to escalate their violence unchecked. "We believe that the justice response isn't always seeing those patterns … and that's where we're seeing murders," she said. Ms Donovan said long-term investment was needed, acknowledging the broader response to domestic and family violence remained reactive. "We're absolutely still putting fires out, and we still have the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff because we haven't really focused on sustainable long-term reform and funding," she said.

$184.1m budget push 'does not touch the sides' of demand, DV body says

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