Domestic and Family Violence

The Hunter is experiencing an emergency in domestic and family violence [DFV]. Specialist DFV services and specialist homelessness services in the region report that pervasive rates of domestic violence, together with the housing crisis and increased cost of living, are driving an overwhelming increase in demand for their services. Adding to this pressure is the growing complexity of victim-survivors' needs. An increasing number of women are presenting to Hunter organisations, including those who have mental health and addiction issues, or those who find it difficult to rent properties because they are blacklisted on tenancy databases, like TICA, or have social housing debts. Frontline services are also seeing more women and children living in poverty, needing urgent medical attention, sleeping rough or living in cars and needing food and access to showers and laundry facilities.

Domestic and family violence and homelessness services in the Hunter are brilliant. But they are stretched. I acknowledge the lifesaving work of just some of the organisations supporting the Lake Macquarie electorate. They include NOVA for Women and Children, Jenny's Place, Survivor's R Us, Southlakes Incorporated and Macquarie Care's Car 2 Home project. However, the reality is that they just cannot help everyone that comes to their doors. The growing complexity of victim-survivor needs is also placing more pressure on an already understaffed workforce, including volunteers. Staff are undertaking more casework hours and, most often at crisis refuges, managing complex interactions between victim-survivors experiencing trauma and mental health struggles.

Many organisations are running programs far above their funded capacity. For example, NOVA for Women and Children, one of the largest service providers in Lake Macquarie and the western suburbs of Newcastle, operated its specialist homeless service program at 148 per cent of its funded capacity in 2023-24. NOVA's Domestic Violence Response Enhancement program also ran at 423 per cent of its funded capacity in this period. That cannot go on. I know the Hunter is not alone in dealing with issues of domestic and family violence and homelessness. They are statewide issues—perhaps some of the most pressing facing the Government.

The sector has welcomed recent State and Federal funding. But the fact remains that need outstrips available services. If we want to protect the lives of victim-survivors and address the far-reaching harm caused by DFV, more investment in specialist DFV and homelessness services is needed. Frontline services need not only more baseline funding but also increased funding for brokerage, resourcing and staffing costs. They need additional transitional accommodation and supported temporary accommodation in areas of identified need. Programs providing co-located advocacy support and hearing support need to be funded and extended. Specialist workers for children and young people should be funded in all DFV specialist services. Those are some of the urgent requests of Domestic Violence NSW and the Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium. I have written to the Government to voice my support for their funding requests.

I also commend the coordinated approach of the regionally focused Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium, with member organisations coming together to collaborate, undertake joint advocacy and leverage their collective resources. Specialist DFV and homelessness services are at the coalface of caring for women and children escaping violence. This care should not be a luxury, coveted because it is unattainable and increasingly rare. It should be available to all those who seek it and who are in need of it. The sector is overwhelmingly populated by good-hearted volunteers working with people in great need. I urge the New South Wales Government to honour its strong commitment to preventing domestic and family violence and supporting victim-survivors by prioritising the need of the DFV sector in its upcoming budget.