3. Health and wellbeing

3.3 Reducing gender-based violence

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2024-25 Budget Measures

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$245.6 million

to support domestic, family and sexual violence victim-survivors and expand programs that reduce violence against women and children. This includes:

$48.1 million

for specialist workers to provide trauma-informed support for children accompanying their mothers to refuges

$48.0 million

to roll out the Staying Home Leaving Violence program statewide and to expand the Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Service

$45.0 million

to improve bail laws and justice system responses to make it more difficult for serious domestic violence offenders to get bail

$29.6 million

for the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service to support victim-survivors to navigate the justice system

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$10.0 million

for Men’s Behaviour Change programs supporting men to develop strategies to prevent the use of violence

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$8.1 million

for the ‘All in’ early childhood pilot, to teach young children about healthy relationships

The NSW Government is committed to a secure society where people live peacefully and are safe at home and in the community. Domestic and family violence affects everyone, resulting in significant economic, social and health costs for victim-survivors as well as the community more broadly.

Women are disproportionately more likely to experience domestic and family violence, with one in four women in NSW experiencing violence, emotional abuse or economic abuse by a cohabiting partner after the age of 15.⁷⁸ Despite efforts to address domestic and family violence, this issue persists, reflected in a 5.5 per cent increase in domestic violence assaults in NSW in the two years to March 2024.⁷⁹

Domestic and family violence can have long-lasting consequences. Women who have left violent relationships are likely to experience considerable financial stress, and often lifelong injuries to their mental health or psychological wellbeing.⁸⁰ Additionally, one in two victim-survivors reported that domestic and family violence impacted their career progression and opportunities.⁸¹

The impact of domestic and family violence on women’s lifetime financial security is severe and multifaceted. Approximately 16 per cent of women in NSW have experienced financial abuse by a partner.⁸² This can take various forms, from racking up significant debt on shared accounts or joint credit cards, to refusing to pay child support payments when required.⁸³ The cumulative effects of these behaviours can have a significant impact on women’s economic security.

In 2023-24, the NSW Government committed $8.1 million to the Redfern Legal Centre to support ongoing delivery of the Financial Abuse Service. Since 1 July 2023, the service has assisted 281 women dealing with financial abuse.

Leaving abusive relationships is also costly for women. Around two-thirds of women who have experienced violence by a previous partner have left property or assets behind when moving out of the home.⁸⁴ Domestic and family violence is the main reason women and their children leave their home, with some women becoming homeless as a result.⁸⁵ Notably, a lack of affordable housing alternatives is a key contributor to women returning to perpetrators.⁸⁶

The NSW Government remains committed to boosting investment in domestic and family violence support services and improving access to initiatives that help victim-survivors rebuild their lives. This Budget invests $48.0 million to roll out the Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) program statewide and to expand the Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Service (IDFVS).

SHLV is an intensive case management service that supports women and their children to remain safe in their home after leaving a violent relationship. It provides need-based supports that include safety and risk assessments, security upgrades, financial assistance, legal help and employment support.

In 2022, a formal evaluation found that the SHLV program effectively contributes to the long-term safety and housing stability of women and children who have left a violent and abusive relationship.⁸⁷

IDFVS offers a multi-agency, integrated and coordinated case management response for families in high-risk target groups and communities.

Multicultural Centre for Women’s and Family Safety

In 2024, the NSW Government invested $4.4 million over three years to partner with Settlement Services International to open a new Multicultural Centre. The centre will provide specialist, culturally responsive support to migrant and refugee women and children who are at risk of, or experiencing, domestic, family and sexual violence.

The new centre, based in South-Western Sydney, commenced operations in April 2024. It provides statewide services, including outreach into regional and rural NSW.

Settlement Services International works with multicultural communities to address various forms of violence that are more likely to affect women, children and families from migrant and refugee backgrounds, such as migration-related abuse, multi-perpetrator violence, dowry abuse, forced marriage and domestic servitude.

$10.0 million has also been committed to support Men’s Behaviour Change Programs to enable men to recognise their violent behaviour and develop strategies to prevent the use of violence.

The NSW Government recognises a whole-of-government response is essential to address domestic, family and sexual violence.

In 2023, NSW became the first state in Australia to appoint a standalone Women’s Safety Commissioner. The Commissioner is helping to support collaboration and coordination across Government, the non-government sector and the broader community, as well as giving victim-survivors a greater voice in the development of policies and programs.

NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner

Dr Hannah Tonkin was appointed as the inaugural Women’s Safety Commissioner in 2023. The Commissioner provides leadership, oversight and strategic advice across the whole of NSW Government to strengthen responses to domestic, family and sexual violence. She also promotes awareness-raising, education and public engagement to deliver improved women’s safety outcomes, and works to amplify the voices of victim-survivors to ensure their perspectives inform government policies and decision making.

Commissioner Tonkin launched her inaugural Strategic Plan, Working together to address domestic, family and sexual violence, in March 2024.

$38.3 million

for the implementation of NSW’s first dedicated primary prevention strategy Pathways to Prevention

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NSW introduced the first Australian standalone offence for coercive control through the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022, with the new offence coming into effect from July 2024.

This Budget invests $38.3 million for the implementation of Pathways to Prevention: NSW Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024-2027. This strategy aims to address the social norms around gender inequality as the key driver of domestic, family and sexual violence.

NSW introduced the first Australian standalone offence for coercive control through the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022, with the new offence coming into effect from July 2024. Implementation of the reforms is being overseen by the Coercive Control Implementation and Evaluation Taskforce, led by the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice and supported by multi-disciplinary reference groups to provide advice and recommendations.

At a national level, joint efforts towards coercive control reforms and ending gender-based violence are also progressing. In 2023, the Australian Government released the National Principles to Address Coercive Control in Family and Domestic Violence, outlining a shared understanding of the common features and impacts of coercive control, as well as guiding considerations to inform responses to this issue.

Further, $47.8 million in Australian Government funding under the Domestic and Sexual Violence National Partnership Agreement 2023-25 will be invested in early intervention initiatives, specialist services, innovative pilot programs and workforce capability development projects.

Gender impact assessment case study: Pathways to Prevention: NSW Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024-2027

The Pathways to Prevention: NSW Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024-2027 aims to address gender inequality as a key driver of domestic, family and sexual violence.

The gender impact assessment of the strategy highlighted the disproportionate impact of domestic, family and sexual violence experienced by some groups, including women with a disability, First Nations women, older women, migrant and refugee women, and LGBTIQ+ people. It also emphasised how challenging harmful gender stereotypes will help lead to more positive, equal, and respectful relationships.

The implementation of the strategy is expected to help shift community attitudes and enhance support for gender equality, assisting to reduce domestic, family and sexual violence in the long-term. It will complement services offered at other points in the cycle of violence, including those that intervene early by targeting specific risk factors for violence, provide crisis response support for victim-survivors, and focus on changing the behaviour of perpetrators to reduce re-offending.

The NSW Government has passed new laws to strengthen community safety by making it harder for alleged serious domestic violence offenders to get bail and ensuring all bail decisions are made by magistrates or judges.

The new laws require people charged with serious domestic violence offences against intimate partners to ‘show cause’ why they should not be detained until their case is determined. If granted bail, those charged with serious domestic and family violence offences will be subject to electronic monitoring.

The amendments also strengthen the unacceptable risk test so that before granting bail decision makers must consider:

‘red flag’ behaviour that could constitute domestic abuse, and
the views of domestic and family violence victims and their family members about safety concerns.

Up to six additional magistrates will be employed and audio-visual link facilities will be available to support remote bail hearings.

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Download NSW Budget 2024-25 Gender Equality Budget Statement V1.1 PDF 6.74MB Current as of Tuesday, 18 June 2024.

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