NSW govt to expand scheme enabling domestic violence victims to stay in homes while perpetrators are removed
Under the Staying Home Leaving Violence, police remove the attacker instead of the domestic violence victim being required to leave the home.
In welcome news for individuals and families dealing with domestic violence, the Minns government is investing $25.9 million over four years to rollout the program to all 128 local government areas.
The program not only allows for the perpetrator to be removed from the home but helps victims by fortifying their properties with security upgrades.
Those affected by domestic violence can also access assistance with safety planning, legal matters and financial guidance.
The SHLV program last year supported 6,500 victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.
The expansion will include providers in areas such as the Northern Beaches, North Shore and Inner West, as well as multiple regional areas.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said everyone had the right to 'feel safe in their own home', but noted this was not the case for many.
'When that right has been taken away from someone, this program is about supporting them in feeling safe in their homes again, or alternative, safe accommodation,' he said.
'Too many lives have been lost and too many families have been broken because of domestic and family violence.'
'It is a blight in our communities, and it is a problem that deserves our government's concerted attention.'
There have been 25 women allegedly killed so far in 2025, after the deaths of 103 women in 2024, according to The Red Heart Campaign.
'Too often victim-survivors of domestic and family violence are forced to leave their homes in order to escape abuse,' NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said.
'Staying Home Leaving Violence helps the victim-survivor to stay safely in their own home, or a home of their choice and to keep important connections in their own community. This program aims to support women to live in safety and to maintain housing stability.'
'Keeping women and children connected to their families, support network, schools, workplaces, and neighbourhoods is so important for their recovery. People should not be forced to abandon those connections to escape a violent situation.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Sydney has reached peak metro. Is it all downhill from here?
'We're limited by what we can afford,' Minns stressed this month. 'No one should be under any illusion that right now we're at full capacity when it comes to what's deliverable and what's buildable in NSW today.' Minns has also dashed any hopes of new stations for the under-construction Metro West having the same artistic flair that has given Sydney its first Instagrammable public transport project. A pedestrian tunnel linking Martin Place metro station with the existing station is called Mulu Giligu – meaning 'path of light' in the Gadigal language. Artist Callum Morton used 10,000 brightly coloured porcelain enamel tiles to create two soaring murals at both entrances to Gadigal station. A portrait of an Indigenous dancer named Roscoe is a feature of Waterloo station. The architecturally designed stations double as a tourist attraction and destination for art lovers. But Minns has foreshadowed that the new stations on Metro West – linking Parramatta to the CBD – will be 'form over function' with a focus on moving commuters from A to B. Minns' reticence to overpromise more metros or art-filled stations is understandable given the underground lines come with multibillion-dollar price tags. The government argues that something has to give, and schools, hospitals and roads cannot be sacrificed for public transport that services only Sydney. But it is a bitter pill to swallow for a city that cannot get enough of its new toy. Loading Similarly, the opposition has seized on Sydney's love affair with the metro which was, after all, a Coalition project. On the day Sydney was wishing the metro a happy birthday, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman was declaring that the Coalition had 'metro ambitions', creating its most notable point of difference with the government to date. How a Coalition would pay for an expanded metro network will be the biggest question the opposition must answer if it is to be believed that it can deliver more fast rail. Where those lines would run will be another obvious question. There are some clues on routes. A confidential review of Sydney's metro projects proposed completing an extension of the airport metro line from Bradfield to 'Bradfield South'. Cost? Nudging $2.5 billion. It also suggested a rail link from Leppington to Bradfield South. Add another $4.6 billion. Those lines could be followed by a northern extension of the airport metro line from St Marys to Schofields by 2037 ($9.6 billion) and on to Tallawong for a further $3.2 billion. Those additions alone will cost NSW a whopping $19.9 billion. The Coalition may not choose to pursue all those proposals, but regardless, it will face massive, if not insurmountable, financial challenges to pursue the metro dream. Ambition is not enough. What is clear is that the metro has changed Sydney. The squeeze in peak hour, when commuters are squashed in like sardines, is a measure of the metro's success. But it is also a source of frustration for some commuters who long for a little more personal space. The government could increase the frequency of the peak services to every three minutes, down from the current four, or it could add extra carriages. But those changes also come with considerable operating costs and this is a Labor government determined not to be a spendthrift. So where does this leave Sydney? We have a world-class fast, reliable rail system that has finally put the city on par with other global powerhouses. No wonder we love it.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney has reached peak metro. Is it all downhill from here?
'We're limited by what we can afford,' Minns stressed this month. 'No one should be under any illusion that right now we're at full capacity when it comes to what's deliverable and what's buildable in NSW today.' Minns has also dashed any hopes of new stations for the under-construction Metro West having the same artistic flair that has given Sydney its first Instagrammable public transport project. A pedestrian tunnel linking Martin Place metro station with the existing station is called Mulu Giligu – meaning 'path of light' in the Gadigal language. Artist Callum Morton used 10,000 brightly coloured porcelain enamel tiles to create two soaring murals at both entrances to Gadigal station. A portrait of an Indigenous dancer named Roscoe is a feature of Waterloo station. The architecturally designed stations double as a tourist attraction and destination for art lovers. But Minns has foreshadowed that the new stations on Metro West – linking Parramatta to the CBD – will be 'form over function' with a focus on moving commuters from A to B. Minns' reticence to overpromise more metros or art-filled stations is understandable given the underground lines come with multibillion-dollar price tags. The government argues that something has to give, and schools, hospitals and roads cannot be sacrificed for public transport that services only Sydney. But it is a bitter pill to swallow for a city that cannot get enough of its new toy. Loading Similarly, the opposition has seized on Sydney's love affair with the metro which was, after all, a Coalition project. On the day Sydney was wishing the metro a happy birthday, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman was declaring that the Coalition had 'metro ambitions', creating its most notable point of difference with the government to date. How a Coalition would pay for an expanded metro network will be the biggest question the opposition must answer if it is to be believed that it can deliver more fast rail. Where those lines would run will be another obvious question. There are some clues on routes. A confidential review of Sydney's metro projects proposed completing an extension of the airport metro line from Bradfield to 'Bradfield South'. Cost? Nudging $2.5 billion. It also suggested a rail link from Leppington to Bradfield South. Add another $4.6 billion. Those lines could be followed by a northern extension of the airport metro line from St Marys to Schofields by 2037 ($9.6 billion) and on to Tallawong for a further $3.2 billion. Those additions alone will cost NSW a whopping $19.9 billion. The Coalition may not choose to pursue all those proposals, but regardless, it will face massive, if not insurmountable, financial challenges to pursue the metro dream. Ambition is not enough. What is clear is that the metro has changed Sydney. The squeeze in peak hour, when commuters are squashed in like sardines, is a measure of the metro's success. But it is also a source of frustration for some commuters who long for a little more personal space. The government could increase the frequency of the peak services to every three minutes, down from the current four, or it could add extra carriages. But those changes also come with considerable operating costs and this is a Labor government determined not to be a spendthrift. So where does this leave Sydney? We have a world-class fast, reliable rail system that has finally put the city on par with other global powerhouses. No wonder we love it.
AU Financial Review
a day ago
- AU Financial Review
Second dwellings, quick approvals the way to housing target: Minns
NSW Premier Chris Minns has confirmed that the government wants to expand complying developments to make it easier to renovate and build homes, including second dwellings in rural and regional areas. But Minns put the hard word on the Commonwealth to provide more upfront funding for housing reforms, echoing calls from NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on behalf of the states before this week's Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra.
