Domestic Violence NSW reports services are at breaking point despite $230m funding package

A peak services body says money hasn’t been spent where it’s needed, less than a year after the NSW government committed $230m to reduce domestic violence against women and children.

Domestic violence services are at breaking point less than a year after the Minns government committed $230 million to expand programs and reduce the rate of violence against women and children, as the peak services body warns money has not been spent where it’s needed most.

According to new data from Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW), more than 95 per cent of domestic violence services including Staying Home Leaving Violence and Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy programs have reported a spike in demand in the past year, with victims waiting two months on average to access critical support.

Across metro and regional areas, DVNSW said specialist and family violence services are reporting long waitlists of up to 33 people on average, with lists blowing out to 180 people, while some services have had to close their books altogether as they race to keep up with demand.

DVNSW chief executive officer Delia Donovan said the sector will collapse under the “weight of need” without increases to baseline funding.

The concern comes after the NSW government introduced an emergency package in May last year following the death of Forbes mother Molly Ticehurst, which included $48m to roll out the Staying Home Leaving Violence statewide and to expand the Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Service.

According to new data from Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW), more than 95 per cent of domestic violence services have reported a spike in demand in the last year.

An additional $45m was set aside to improve bail laws and justice system responses alongside a suite of other measures to come into effect in the next four years.

But DVNSW claimed the emergency funding package cannot end domestic and family violence through “temporary injections of money and program expansions alone” if the government does not make a long-term investment in baseline resources.

It comes after a woman died in alleged domestic violence incident in Randwick this month. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

“For years now, a baseline funding increase has been our top priority budget ask. More than ever, it’s needed to keep frontline services running and to ensure women and children escaping violence have somewhere to turn,” Ms Donovan said.

“These services are the frontline responders to the domestic violence crisis. It’s like sending a paramedic to a major emergency with just one ambulance – forced to make impossible choices about who gets help and who is left without lifesaving support.”

As the peak body for domestic and family violence in NSW, DVNSW said the latest data collected from a range of crisis and refuge support services, counselling, and case management programs highlighted showed the government’s million-dollar spend has failed to curb the crisis.

NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car defended the emergency package, and did not say whether the government would pour more money into baseline funding.

NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

However, Ms Car acknowledged the government was struggling to stay ahead of the escalating scourge of domestic violence.

“There’s a huge demand on services, there’s no doubt about that. Unfortunately, this is an area where we have to increase services constantly because of the fact that we confront these issues of women being faced with domestic violence almost every day,” she said.

“We are working with the domestic violence sector and those with lived experience of family and domestic violence to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to (respond) at the emergency end as well as the preventive end.”

The commitment comes as the state confronts some of the highest domestic violence rates in the last decade.

In 2024, 79 women were killed by domestic violence across Australia, with NSW recording 25 deaths, the highest number of gender-based murders in the country.

Originally published as Domestic Violence NSW reports services are at breaking point despite $230m funding package