Overview of Federal Domestic Policy

Picture Source: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/extra-68m-a-year-needed-to-house-domestic-violence-victims-homelessness-australia-20150617-ghpzw1.html

As legislative frameworks for dealing with domestic violence differ from state to state, federal policy initiatives are particularly important in creating a uniform level of protection and care for victims Australia-wide.

Last January, the Abbott government announced it would implement a national advisory panel on violence against women to provide feedback to the federal government on policy initiatives. The panel included then-Australian of the Year Rosie Batty and former Victorian Police Commissioner Ken Lay.

Following the formation of the panel, the Abbott government announced a national action plan on violence against women the following June. Unfortunately, at the same time, the government cut funding to critical services across the country in its 2015 budget, with many of the cuts led by the Social Services Minister Scott Morrison. The budget also included deep cuts to domestic violence frontline services and key Indigenous support services. The community’s anger at the decision was palpable and the government retreated, reinstating the funding.

Calls to better fund the sector, particularly the crucial 1800RESPECT hotline, went unanswered throughout much of Abbott’s prime ministership.

However, Abbott’s successor, Malcolm Turnbull, made addressing domestic violence funding his first act as Prime Minister when he took office late last year. On 24 September, joined by Minister for Women Michaelia Cash and anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty, Turnbull announced a $100m boost to the funding of the domestic violence sector.

The policy includes a number of measures aimed at keeping women safe from abusive partners in the home. Firstly, the package includes $12m to trial new technology such as GPS trackers to allow women to protect themselves against partners or ex-partners who may be harassing or following them. Another $5m was pledged to work with telecom companies to provide safe mobile phones for victims of domestic violence, whose numbers are silent and untraceable and are given to victims for free, pre-loaded with calling credit.

Another $17m will be put towards technology within the home, such as CCTV footage and lock checks to ensure women escaping abuse feel safe and comfortable in their homes.

And, in answer to sustained campaigning, the government pledged $5m to refund the 1800RESPECT hotline, which currently leaves many calls unanswered due to be chronically under-funded and under-staffed. The government included an additional $2m in its package to fund MensLine, a hotline that assists men in attempting not to re-offend.

These are the long-term measures set down by the government in its new policy. In the shorter tern, the government has provided $14m to train police, social workers, emergency department staff and general practitioners in assisting and supporting victims of domestic violence. When announcing this part of the package, Minister for Women Michaelia Cash stated that GPs see up to five women a week who have been victims of domestic violence, yet only two hours of domestic violence education is required for an Australian medical degree.

A further $15m was pledged to establish domestic violence units in regional locations that coordinate police assistance, legal advice and help from social workers.

$5m was also committed to funding local women’s case workers across Australia, and $1.4m to provide community engagement officers to Indigenous communities. Finally, a further $1.1m was pledged to Indigenous communities to build upon and extend domestic violence support in these areas.

“The tragic and avoidable deaths of women and their children at the hands of current or former partners or family members highlight the need for urgent action,” Prime Minister Turnbull said when announcing the policy.

“We must elevate this issue to our national consciousness, and make it clear that domestic, family or sexual violence is unacceptable in any circumstances.”

“We look forward to working with states and territories to trial innovative new technologies to keep women safe, to train more frontline staff to recognise and respond appropriately to women experiencing violence, and to provide better resources and infrastructure to police working in remote Indigenous communities.”

The package was widely praised for addressing the severity and urgency of domestic violence in Australia, but advocacy groups such as Fair Agenda expressed concern that it does not include additional funding for frontline crises services, many of which had been de-funded by the Baird government’s Going Home Staying Home policy in 2014.

Pressure is being put on the Prime Minister by the Opposition to extend the policy by creating new funding for frontline services as well as community legal services. “Despite promising new leadership, Malcolm Turnbull has cut $24 million from community legal centres, $15 million from Legal Aid Commissions, and $13 million from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services,” Shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said last December.

If you want to know more about or access any of the services included in this policy, contact the office of the Prime Minister or your local federal MP. Further, if there are any aspects of this outline that you would like us to delve into further, please contact the Legal Network at nswlegalnetwork@amnesty.org.au.

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call 000.