4 days ago
Domestic violence peak body concerned NSW budget boost fails to address 'waitlist issues'
The peak body supporting family and domestic violence victim-survivors in NSW says a half-a-billion dollar budget commitment does not address the immediate day-to-day needs of a sector struggling to cope.
The state government announced this month's budget will contain spending to provide more resources to support victim-survivors who have to navigate the justice system.
Premier Chris Minns on Monday described the package as "a crucial investment in justice in NSW".
The announcement includes an additional $227 million over five years for government support services which help people access counselling and financial assistance.
The government said it would also provide a total of $272 million towards bolstering its own frontline domestic violence services.
The budget commitment provides $49 million for a hub to support victim-survivors going through the legal system, $34 million to upgrade the Downing Centre courts precinct and $48 million to fund more prosecutors.
"It would be virtually unimpeachable that the justice system and our court system can be incredibly intimidating for vulnerable people in difficult circumstances, perhaps the most difficult circumstances of their life," Mr Minns said.
The government also announced it would offer five-year contracts for domestic violence support services in a bid to provide "funding certainty" to struggling organisations.
However, Domestic Violence NSW CEO Delia Donovan said while the funding announcement was welcomed, overwhelmed frontline organisations needed a boost to keep their doors open.
"We had asked for $163 million baseline funding to go to services … baseline funding has not been upped for 10 years," she said.
She said the announcement would not alleviate the two-month waitlists at services.
"We know demand is at 95 per cent across services, that people are reaching out for help and the waitlists are too high.
"Parts [of the justice package] of course are welcomed … but this isn't about service reform for us, this is justice reform and it's simply not good enough."
As part of the budget cash splash, there will also be $100 million to increase the capacity of the prison system.
The premier said make-up of the funding package was partly because the "prison population had increased by 1,000" people since his government took office.
Full Stop Australia CEO Karen Bevan said the funding initiatives for the justice system "were absolutely critical" to help domestic violence victim-survivors recover and heal after going through the legal process.
"Some of the announcements today make a real change for the experience of victim-survivors in court and that's critical," she said.
