Key Points
- On Friday, the government announced a $4.7 billion package to help combat gender-based violence.
- The package includes $3.9 billion over five years for frontline legal services.
- Some organisations have raised concerns about how the funding will be distributed and whether they will benefit.
When a refuge is forced to turn away a woman experiencing family violence, it puts her at risk of not only homelessness but further harm too.
Last year, Mary’s House Services in northern Sydney, which provides support for women and children impacted by domestic and family violence, was forced to turn away over 70 vulnerable women.
to combat gender-based violence on Friday morning, concerns emerged among groups that feel like they are being overlooked.
While Mary’s House Services CEO Yvette Vignando welcomed the announcement, she expressed hesitation about how the funding will be distributed, especially to organisations like hers, which aren’t government-funded.
Yvette Vignando is concerned some groups supporting domestic violence victims may be overlooked and miss out on government funding.
“My concern is how will it be distributed equitably and how will it take into account the needs of women and children across the state, including of course, First Nations women and children who are disproportionately affected by domestic and family violence incidents,” she told SBS News.
“Data about that is not being collected from services like Mary’s House Services.
“If there is not collection of data across the state from all quality domestic violence services … the advice about how to distribute the funding will be inadequate and we will miss out again.”
Legal services feeling ‘betrayed’ despite boost
Frontline legal services for women fleeing violence were the largest beneficiaries following the second National Cabinet on the issue, with an $800 million boost over five years bringing total funding to $3.7 billion.
However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services feel “betrayed” by the announcement.
Karly Warner, chair of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, said the funding guaranteed no new services or representation would be possible, locking the organisation “into a perpetual funding crisis”.
“Nationally, we already can only support a fraction of the people who need our help, including victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence,” she said.
“Not having access to culturally appropriate legal support results in Aboriginal people being put in jail for minor crimes that non-Aboriginal Australians wouldn’t be.
“This is deeply troubling at a time when governments around the continent are going back on their commitments to Closing the Gap and ignoring the evidence on what reduces crime.”
The government has announced an additional $4.7 billion in gender-based violence funding. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
The sentiment was echoed by the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, with its CEO Nerita Waight saying the organisation may be “worse off under the new agreement”.
“This will mean that services like Balit Ngulu, our dedicated legal service for Aboriginal children, and our regional offices are at risk of cutbacks and closure,” Waight said.
For other frontline legal services, like National Legal Aid (NLA), the boost in funding means the ability to expand services to women experiencing violence.
NLA executive director Katherine McKernan said they’d experienced a 60 per cent increase in demand for domestic and family violence lawyers in NSW but were unable to help as many women as they wanted to due to underfunding.
“The demand is really high … Of course funding will not meet all the need unfortunately, but it is going to go some way to increase and expanding who we can provide services to,” she told SBS News.
Questions over funding timeline
The federal government also faced criticism from the Opposition around the timing of the funding, which won’t be available until July next year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the rollout and said once it starts: “services will benefit from the certainty of knowing what is coming as they go forward”.
National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) CEO Tessa Boyd-Caine also warned against sudden expectations on services following major announcements.
“I would hope that this commitment and the timeline gives us time for the government and services to work together around what’s needed. To make sure that that funding really makes a difference in the communities where it is needed,” she said.
She praised the federal government for acknowledging more work needed to be done with men and perpetrators of violence and how to prevent it, with funding carved out in the package.
“Even if we don’t want to continue the service programs that aren’t working, we need to learn from them to make sure that every dollar we spend and every minute of every service is going to make the biggest difference in ending violence against women and children.”
SBS News has contacted Albanese’s office for comment.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit. In an emergency, call 000.
, operated by No to Violence, can be contacted on 1300 766 491.
