Budget 2024–25 contained few surprises and little in the way of additional targeted funding to women escaping violence or the workers who support them.
Overall, the budget contains many good things for women. Budget highlights – such as the more equitable tax cuts, wage increases for some in the caring sector, and paid parental leave changes – will help improve women’s economic security and gender equality.
One of the significant announcements that came before the budget was the $1b targeting of housing funds to women and children escaping violence. While the targeting is a positive development, it does not represent new money as it was already committed under the National Housing Infrastructure Facility. Implementation details are not yet available.
In the budget itself there are limited additional measures to specifically support women escaping violence. The big ticket item is the new, permanent, Leaving Violence Program (LVP), which will replace the existing Escaping Violence Payment and the Temporary Visa Payment from 1 July 2025.
While the LVP is very welcome and it is great to see the inclusion of support services in the costing, more clarity is required regarding its delivery and distribution. Women in vulnerable cohorts – such as migrant and refugee women, women with disabilities and First Nations women – must not be left behind. DFV specialist services are best placed to ensure services are underpinned by risk assessments, safety planning and short?term referral services.
Other new money goes to relatively small, but nonetheless welcome, measures such as:
- an extra $8.6m for Family Violence Prevention Legal Services
- $18.7m to introduce a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender?based Violence
- $4.3m for Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety to further build the evidence base on pathways into and out of perpetration of family, domestic and sexual violence
- $1.3m for a rapid review of targeted prevention approaches to violence against women, with a panel of experts to provide advice to Government on preventing gender?based violence, including a focus on homicides.
These are very modest spends which, the Government points out, add to more significant investments already underway and which form part of the $3.4 billion committed since October 2022.
The Government’s approach through the National Plan and in putting in place building blocks for the future gives pause for optimism. There is however disappointment that this budget does not more urgently provide relief in the sector, much less aim to progress more ambitious or systemic reforms.
Wesnet will continue to advocate strongly for improved support and funding for DFV specialist services and the women who run them, and need them. The Government must do more if it is to achieve its goal of eliminating violence against women in one generation.
More information:
Empowering victim-survivors and targeting perpetrators of gender-based violence – Fact Sheet
Wesnet’s pre-Budget submission
Contact:
Karen Bentley, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]