DVNSW breaks down the Federal Budget

This week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ABC “there is more work to do but I’m proud of tonight’s budget” when delivering the 2023-24 Federal Budget.?

DVNSW has reviewed the key budget announcements and has?outlined a road map for the work to come.?

Our advocacy?

In the lead up to the budget, DVNSW advocated for many of the investments and commitments that the Federal Government announced:?

• We advocated with Federal Ministers and were actively involved in the consultations during the drafting (and re-drafting) of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032, providing feedback and submissions, including on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan. We will continue to work closely with the Federal Government as the first five-year Action Plan is developed and implemented.?
• We provided feedback on the Housing Legislative Package exposure draft.?
• We provided feedback on the Family Law Act Amendment Bill, which removed the presumption of equal shared responsibility.?
• Alongside the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the University of Technology, we have advocated for the recommendations in Dr Anne Summers AO’s report The Choice: violence or poverty.?
• We supported Fair Agenda’s Fully fund women’s safety campaign and Economic Justice Australia’s Domestic violence law reform campaign.?
• We drafted a submission to the Australian Government’s Select Committee on Cost of Living.?

Our roadmap for the work to come?

• DVNSW will continue to advocate for adequate long term, sustainable funding to respond to victim-survivors and provide job security for the domestic and family violence sector, the majority of whom are women. Though pleased to see the $159 million extension of the National Partnership on Family, Domestic, and Sexual violence, this is short-term funding over 2 years.?
• A greater focus on children and young people as victim survivors in their own right is required in future budgets. DVNSW will advocate for a portion of the National Partnership funding to be directed to supporting children and young people, including the continuation of the National Partnership funded pilot of specialist workers for children and young people in?NSW.?
• DVNSW are pleased to see stand-alone investment and a range of funded initiatives to address First Nations family safety, and we will take a closer look at the detail over the coming weeks in collaboration?with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Steering Committee and Aboriginal expert partners.?
• DVNSW acknowledge that the Government is working hard to move the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund through Parliament, which will build 30,000 additional affordable homes. However, this investment nevertheless will not meet demand and DVNSW will continue to advocate for additional investment in social and affordable housing.?
• The budget falls short for women on temporary visas experiencing violence, who are among the most economically disadvantaged, with no access to social security payments, housing assistance, or Medicare. DVNSW?will continue to advocate for women on temporary visas to live safely.?

Key budget announcements?

Additional investments to end gender-based violence under the Action Plan?

• $159 million to extend the National Partnership on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses with state and territory governments to bolster frontline family, domestic and sexual violence supports.?
• $8.5 million for early intervention initiatives including development of a national perpetrator risk assessment framework for frontline service providers, extending Mensline Changing for Good Service and developing a national perpetrator referral database.?
• $3.3 million to review the suitability of emergency accommodation services for children and conduct an independent evaluation of 1800RESPECT.?
• Extending funding for the Escaping Violence Payment to January 2025, for individuals leaving violent relationships.?

First Nations women’s safety?

• $194 million over 5 years to support Australia’s first dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan for family violence. This includes:?
• $145.3 million to support activities which address immediate safety concerns for First Nations women and children?
• $23.2 million to partner with local organisations to design, deliver and evaluate community-led, place-based, trauma-aware and culturally responsive healing programs for First Nations children and families who are impacted by family violence or at risk of engagement with the child protection systems?
• $17.6 million to deliver on family safety initiatives under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan?
• $7.8 million over 5 years to support the development of a standalone First Nations National Plan for Family Safety, including governance, secretariat and data arrangements.?
• $68.6 million for National Family Violence Prevention Legal Service providers to deliver legal and non-legal support for First Nations victim-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence and a review to inform the development of a national standard for government data on lost, missing or murdered First Nations women and children.?

Actions to prevent and address sexual violence?

• $6.5 million to strengthen sexual assault and consent laws and improve justice responses to sexual violence. This includes funding for a ministerial-level national roundtable and an independent national inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission into justice responses to sexual violence.?
• $12.1 million to develop and distribute social media resources for young people on consent and?support community-led sexual violence prevention pilots.?

Support for migrant women and women on temporary visas?

• Extending the current Temporary Visa Holders Experiencing Violence Pilot to January 2025.?
• $10 million to expand the family violence provisions within the Migration Regulations 1994 to ensure that visa applicants do not feel compelled to remain in a violent relationship to be granted a permanent visa.?

Improving outcomes in family law property settlements and international child abduction matters?

• $33.1 million to expand the Family Law Priority Property Pool program nationally to streamline court processes for small property disputes and support vulnerable women to regain their financial independence and security after separation.?
• $13.4 million to extend the Lawyer-assisted Family Law Property Mediation program to assist separated couples to mediate and reach agreement on a family law property division.?
• $18.4 million to make Australia’s implementation of the Hague Convention safer for women and children impacted by international parental child abduction.?

Indexation funding for Community Sector Organisations?

The Government has updated the indexation of funding for a range of programs tied to wages to ensure it is more responsive to economic conditions. This reform will help community sector organisations, overwhelmingly staffed by women, address cost pressures and continue to provide vital services to women and children experiencing violence.?

Supporting women online?

An additional $134.1 million over four years for the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to continue to provide webinars and workshops that complement the National Plan and help victim-survivors of technology facilitated abuse.?

Increasing the supply of affordable and social housing?

The Federal Government is working with states and territories to increase the supply of housing including support specifically for women experiencing violence or at risk of homelessness, by:?

• Supporting more social and affordable dwellings through the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator which will facilitate further lending to eligible Community Housing Providers for social and affordable housing projects.?
• Working with states to reform Commonwealth funding arrangements from 1 July 2024 under a new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA), including an extra $67.5 million in 2023–24 to assist homelessness services, while the new agreement is finalised.?