Recommendation 9

The Commonwealth, through the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and with state and territory governments, to expedite a needs analysis to determine unmet demand in DFSV crisis response, recovery and healing (excluding police), with the view to develop a pathway to fund demand. This should take into consideration the needs of different groups of women and children and the demand for targeted and culturally safe responses, such as ethno-specific services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations, with a particular focus on remote communities.

More immediately, there should be a significant funding uplift for:

1. legal services, noting the recommendations of the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership and the expiry of the current partnership on 30 June 2025;
2. crisis accommodation, noting commitments to date and what is outlined in Recommendation 10; and
3. establishment of nationally consistent travel assistance for people escaping DFSV who live in remote areas (Commonwealth and states and territories).

(responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Social Services, Attorney-General’s, Treasury)

Update as at 30 October 2025

Following National Cabinet on 6 September, in November 2024 the Commonwealth, state and territory Attorneys-General agreed to the terms of the new National Access to Justice Partnership 2025-30 (NAJP). The NAJP commenced on 1 July 2025, following the expiry of the National Legal Assistance Program (lead agency: Attorney-General’s Department).

• Through the NAJP, the Commonwealth Government is providing a $3.9 billion investment to support frontline legal assistance services, including an increase of nearly $800 million to support specialist legal services. One of the priorities of the NAJP is providing services for women and children who are escaping or at risk of experiencing family and domestic violence.

Following the National Cabinet announcement of a renewed FFA on 6 September 2024, on 1 July 2025 the renewed FDSV FFA commenced. The Commonwealth, in partnership with states and territories, is investing over $700 million in new matched funding under this FFA (lead agency: Department of Social Services).

• Funding under the FFA will support:
  • Specialist supports for women,
  • Services to support children exposed to FDSV to heal and recover, and
  • Working with men, including men’s behaviour change programs for perpetrators of gendered violence.
• The FFA also supports greater flexibility for states and territories to direct funding to meet local need and is accompanied by stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms.
• States and territories are currently finalising their project plans which will be published on the Department of Social Services website in 2026.

Establishing a consistent method to collect data on unmet demand (lead agency: Department of Social Services)

• Under the National Plan, the Government has funded AIHW to develop a prototype for a national family and domestic violence specialist crisis services data collection. The key purpose of this project is to develop, test and agree a core set of data items that can be collected to quantify demand, as well as provide information about the characteristics and outcomes achieved for people accessing these services nationally.
• AIHW is working collaboratively with states and territories and consulting broadly with the sector, peak bodies and advocacy groups to understand the complex service delivery system and referral pathways in each jurisdiction, based on definitions of service types, and establish a good understanding of what data is and isn’t collected.
• The project is now in Phase 2 – the development of the prototype. A dedicated First Nations phase of work is also being developed, with a complementary governance arrangement.
• The project is due to be completed in 2026.

Recommendation 10

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments to apply a prevention lens to the resourcing and delivery of crisis response and recovery services. This includes through:

1. replacing motels and other high-cost temporary crisis accommodation with specialist crisis accommodation that provide wraparound services (states and territories);
2. resourcing the DFSV sector for long-term case management, following the needs analysis identified in Recommendation 9 (states and territories); and
3. increasing linkage between the DFSV and homelessness sectors, and align these sectors in national frameworks and plans (Commonwealth and states and territories).

(Responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Social Services, Treasury)

Update as at 30 October 2025

Since 2022, the Commonwealth Government has made significant investments in housing, including for women and children impacted by violence (lead agency: Department of Social Services and Department of the Treasury).

• Delivery of crisis, transitional, social and affordable housing for vulnerable Australians, including women and children experiencing family and domestic violence, and youth at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness, continues through initiatives such as the recently launched $1 billion National Housing Infrastructure Facility – Crisis and Transitional Housing, the $100 million Crisis and Transitional Accommodation Program under the Housing Australia Future Fund, and $175.1 million provided under the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program.
• In February 2025, the Government announced that as part of the Crisis and Transitional Accommodation Program, 42 projects across Australia will be offered funding totalling $100 million to build new crisis and transitional homes for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence, and older women at risk of homelessness.
• Further under the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness, the Government is providing $9.3 billion over five years from 1 July 2024 to state and territory governments to help people who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness and supports the effective operation of Australia’s social housing and homelessness services sectors. The Leaving Violence Program supports people who are victim-survivors over 18 years of age, experiencing intimate partner violence, regardless of visa status, gender or sexuality. It can provide referrals to housing support, and financial support can also be used by applicants for housing costs.
• The Government has invested $41.72 million from 2022-23 to 2026-27 through the Keeping Women Safe in their Homes program, which aims to enhance the home security and personal safety of women and their children impacted by family and domestic violence.
• On 1 October, the Commonwealth Government launched the 5% Deposit Scheme, guaranteeing portions of a first home buyer’s home loan, so they can purchase with a lower deposit and not pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme, launched on 1 October 2025, eligible single parents or guardians with at least one dependant are supported to purchase a home with a 2% deposit. All first home buyers are now eligible, with no caps on places or income. Participants in this stream may have previously owned or be divesting a property interest and are not required to be first home buyers.

Together, these investments are helping to reduce the strain on the crisis accommodation system, reduce unmet need for transitional housing, and strengthen pathways into longer-term housing.

Recommendation 11

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments to activate the health system and workforce as a key prevention lever. This should include:

1. equipping and resourcing General Practitioners (GPs), perinatal, and mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) services to identify and support DFSV victim-survivors and people who use violence (Commonwealth and states and territories);
2. creating a specific Medicare item number for GPs that enables them to spend appropriate time with victim-survivors (Commonwealth);
3. mandating training of professionals in general primary and mental health settings in adult and child safeguarding, including DFSV, as a requirement for registration through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Commonwealth and states and territories); and
4. Increasing cross-sector collaboration between the AOD and DFSV sector and provide specialised services for women that are family friendly and support caring for children (states and territories).

(responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Health)

Update as at 30 October 2025

The Commonwealth Government has a range of measures underway under the National Plan to activate the health system as a prevention lever – some commencing prior to and some following the Rapid Review (lead agency: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). This includes:

• $6 million to support six Primary Health Networks to trial delivering outreach health care to victim survivors in women's crisis accommodation and services to support women and children fleeing violence.
• $48.7 million to support twelve Primary Health Networks to assist in the early identification and intervention of FDSV and coordinate referrals to support services.
• $2.0 million for national primary care training, including building the capacity of primary health care providers to respond, refer and record disclosures of FDSV using a trauma and violence informed approach.
• $67.2 million to support six Primary Health Networks to trial a new model of trauma-informed mental health recovery care for victim-survivors of FDSV.
• $25.0 million towards a landmark initiative to establish a Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre providing trauma-informed services and innovative wrap‑around care to women and children in the Illawarra region who have experienced FDV.
• $11.3 million towards men’s health training for primary healthcare practitioners.

Recommendation 12

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments to take targeted efforts to address the significant gaps in responses to people who use violence. This should include:

1. strengthening initial justice responses to facilitate advice and assistance beyond legal needs, which can help to reduce risk and improve compliance, including access to crisis accommodation (states and territories); and
2. improving the national evidence base, quality, capability and supply of men’s behaviour change programs, including through a focus on continuous improvement. Behaviour change programs should:
   1. be part of a community-coordinated response;
   2. be provided at appropriate intervention points;
   3. emphasise the value of associated support to victim-survivors through partner and family safety contact; and
   4. facilitate/co-locate access to support for needs related to harmful substance abuse, histories of trauma, cognitive impairment and mental ill-health through a DFSV-informed lens (states and territories, with Commonwealth supporting national consistency and best practice).

(Responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Social Services, Attorney-General’s, Treasury)

Update as at 30 October 2025

At the 6 September 2024 National Cabinet meeting, the Commonwealth Government announced it will provide funding to establish national standards for men’s behaviour change progams (lead agency: Department of Social Services).

• The Department of Social Services has undertaken planning and consultation to understand the scope of jurisdictional approaches to men’s behaviour change and existing standards. This has included understanding the breadth of men’s behaviour change interventions. There is a range of evaluation and research that has been undertaken in this space, and this informed design of an online forum.
• On 12 August 2025, the DFSV Commission hosted an online forum (co‑chaired with Department of Social Services) with sector stakeholders from across the broader service system (including men’s behaviour change practitioners and other organisations who work with men and boys). The forum was hosted to support the Department of Social Services to scope and design the approach to establish the national standards, noting the range of relevant workforces and existing ways states and territories support and implement programs for behaviour change. The forum discussed existing evidence gaps and opportunities to support improved practice outcomes across the system. A summary report of what was discussed will be published by the DFSV Commission on its website. The Commission has published an overview of recent research, policy development and service delivery on working with men and boys on its website (https://www.dfsvc.gov.au/men-and-boys-snapshot).

On 15 August 2025, the Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council agreed to accelerate work on national standards for men’s behaviour change interventions to improve quality and practice and deliver an effective, evidence-based and more consistent approach to addressing men’s use of violence across all jurisdictions.

Recommendation 13

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments to work together to strengthen multi-agency approaches and better manage risk, with a lens on harm and safety, for victim-survivors of DFSV, including risk of homicide and suicide. This should include:

1. the development and implementation of nationally consistent risk assessment and management principles to be utilised across the full range of roles identified as having decision-making and/or support functions in relation to DFSV, with a proactive approach to preventing misidentification (Commonwealth and states and territories);
2. strengthening information sharing within and across jurisdictions – including through the National Criminal Intelligence System (NCIS) (Commonwealth and states and territories);
3. the introduction and expansion of multi-agency responses, including fit-for-purpose police co-responder models – with an immediate focus on collaborative responses that increase access to forensic examinations (states and territories);
4. a national approach to strengthen systems responses to high-risk perpetrators, including through trialling and evaluating DFSV threat assessment centres and evidence-based focussed deterrence models (states and territories, with Commonwealth support); and
5. all jurisdictions establishing mechanisms that are DFSV-informed for independent oversight and accountability of police response and management of DFSV (including members investigated for DFSV). These mechanisms should sit outside of police forces and be civilian-led (states and territories).

(Responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Social Services, Attorney-General’s, Home Affairs)

Update as at 30 October 2025

The following measures were announced at the 6 September 2024 National Cabinet, as part of the $82.4 million package to deliver innovative new approaches to better identify high risk perpetrators, share information about them across systems and state boundaries, and intervene earlier to stop violence escalating. This includes:

• $2.0 million to develop a new national best-practice risk assessment principles and a model best‑practice risk assessment framework (lead agency: Department of Social Services).
• ANROWS has been contracted to update the principles. Consultations with all jurisdictions on the development of the best-practice model risk assessment framework are underway. The principles and Framework are expected to be completed by April 2026.
• $0.6 million over two years to support enhancements to the National Criminal Intelligence System, which enables information sharing across jurisdictions, to provide a ‘warning flag’ that will assist police responding to high-risk perpetrators (lead agency: Attorney-General's Department and Department of Home Affairs).
• $28.6 million over four years to trial two innovative models, Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centres and focused deterrence, which will use evidence-based policing to detect, monitor and intervene with high-risk and serial domestic violence offenders (lead agency: Attorney-General’s Department).
• $50.6 million over four years to work with states and territories to expand and increase nationally consistent, two-way information sharing between family law courts and state and territory courts, child protection, policing and firearms agencies. On 15 August 2025, the Standing Council of Attorneys-General approved funding arrangements to extend information sharing under the National Strategic Framework for Information Sharing between the Family Law and Family Violence and Child Protection Systems and its Co-location Program (lead agency: Attorney-General’s Department).
• $0.6 million to conduct critical research on bail, remand, parole and sentencing with regard to risk of intimate partner homicide; and improving the operation of court mandated behaviour change programs and their interaction with justice systems (lead agency: Attorney-General’s Department).

Recommendation 14

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments to work together to build the specialist DFSV workforce and expand workforce capability of all services that frequently engage with victim-survivors and people who use violence. This should be done through:

1. commissioning analysis into current and future labour supply for the DFSV specialist services sector and recommendations to build and support a secure and sustainably resourced sector; and
2. establishing a DFSV National Workforce Development Strategy that would expand the capacity and capability of sectors, such as the DFSV specialist sector, providing emergency services and accommodation, and including the men's behaviour change sector and the sexual violence sector; and
3. establishing a strategy for capability uplift across other intersecting workforces, and prioritising legal, justice, child protection and health (including AOD and mental health) sectors.

(Responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Social Services, Attorney-General’s, Health, Skills and Training, Home Affairs)

Update as at 30 October 2025

Workforce analysis (lead agency: Department of Social Services)

• The Commonwealth Government has invested $1.39 million to develop a National Workforce Survey to understand the size and capabilities of the FDSV workforce. It will build on state and territory workforce surveys undertaken over the past few years.
• The Social Research Centre has been contracted to lead this work. The approach to the survey was developed in consultation with the sector from July to October 2024 to ensure it is fit-for-purpose, accessible and culturally sensitive.
• An interim report was provided in December 2024 and the survey questionnaire was developed and cognitive testing undertaken over 2025.
• The survey will be rolled out in February 2026 with a final report due by June 2026.

Recommendation 15

The Commonwealth and state and territory governments should further expand and prioritise work on Action 6 in the First Action Plan of the National Plan to recognise the full range of sexual violence including where it occurs apart from DFV particularly noting the recommendations from the forthcoming Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence.

(Responsible Commonwealth portfolio/s: Attorney-General’s)

Update as at 30 October 2025

Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence (lead agency: Attorney-General’s Department)

• The Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) report Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence was tabled in Parliament on 6 March 2025, making 64 recommendations.
• In response, in the 2025-26 Budget, the Commonwealth committed $21.4 million to improve victim and survivor engagement with the justice system and inform a broader response to the ALRC’s report.
• These investments specifically focus on improving victim and survivor engagement with the justice system through measures like expanding trauma-informed legal services, piloting culturally safe Justice System Navigators, and exploring restorative justice pathways.
• The Government is carefully considering the ALRC report’s recommendations and will work closely with states and territories, experts and people with lived experience, through an Expert Advisory Group, to consider a longer-term response.