New high-security shelters for women in crisis to sit empty during family violence epidemic
Nearly 30 high-security units for sheltering women at high risk of death by family violence will stand empty after the state government refused to fund their operating costs.
Construction of the 28 crisis shelter units – expected to house more than 1000 women and children a year – is underway in Melbourne's north after the federal government provided $7.8 million in July 2024 to Victoria's 24/7 domestic violence response service, Safe Steps.
The May state budget did not include the $3.9 million in operational funding for the new units for 2025-26 or the $9.6 million in ongoing funding requested by Safe Steps.
As a result, the apartments will sit empty during a housing crisis, Safe Steps chief executive Chelsea Tobin said.
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A Victorian government spokesperson said that since the federal government funded the construction of the apartments, 'they should fully fund it to become operational'.
The construction money was granted after a string of brutal deaths in 2024 prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's rapid review into addressing gendered violence.
It allowed Safe Steps to expand its wraparound pilot service, Sanctuary, from seven apartments to 35, adding 120 places for women and their children to stay for three weeks while they are connected with safe accommodation, social services, education and employment.
Independent analysis of Sanctuary's first year, 2023-24, found it saved Victorian taxpayers $100 per night per client compared to putting women and children in motels, which are currently used to cover the large gap in crisis refuge places in Victoria. It found 98 per cent of those who stayed there did not return to violent – and potentially deadly – homes.
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