Albanese’s $925m escape money pledge just ‘one piece of the puzzle’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s $925 million pledge to expand a financial support scheme for women fleeing violent relationships has been described by a key consultant to the national domestic violence plan as just “one piece of the puzzle” that must be quickly followed by stronger action.

Albanese also promised to push through online safety measures to counter extremist views about women – starting with a $6.5 million age-verification pilot the government had previously played down the need for – in his first major policy response to days of public outrage about the deaths of 28 women in violent circumstances this year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with (from left) Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, and Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin.Credit: AAP

But Wednesday’s snap national cabinet meeting did not secure any major commitments from state and territory governments, which are responsible for the bail laws and justice responses that have come under intense scrutiny as women are killed by men known to the police or court systems.

Instead, premiers and chief ministers in a joint statement acknowledged that their “system responses need to be strengthened” – saying they would focus on how police respond to high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders – and planned to meet again in coming months. Police ministers and attorneys-general will also convene on the issue this Friday.

Women’s advocates welcomed the federal government’s $925 million investment in a “leaving violence payment” scheme over five years from July 2025, which is expected to help 36,700 women a year with $5000 one-off payments, of which $1500 is in cash and $3500 comes on a pre-paid card for goods and services.

The program is an extension of the escaping violence payment trial, which was launched by the former Coalition government in October 2021 and due to expire next January. The rebranded program will be permanent and indexed each year, but it won’t start for 14 months.

Monash University Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, who led the consultations for the national plan to end violence against women, said Wednesday’s announcements were a step forward but not enough.

“The leaving violence program is one piece of the puzzle but it’s critical that it is implemented alongside increased funding for the range of wrap-around supports that victim-survivors so desperately need at the point of leaving an abuser,” she said.

“We need to ensure that the specialist support sector is funded to provide the critical safety supports ... and that we have available housing for victim-survivors who should not have to choose between living with an abuser or homelessness.

“It will be imperative that in the days and weeks that come, that the leadership commitment that has been promised is carried through in terms of further action, clear announcements, and funding to address whole of system responses to domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia.

“This announcement must not be a stand-alone commitment.”

Crucially, Fitz-Gibbon said confidence in the justice system’s ability to ensure women’s safety had been eroded.

“The community needs to understand what will be done at the state and territory level to improve justice system responses to all forms of domestic, family and sexual violence,” she said.

The federal opposition welcomed the additional funding, but said the government needed to deliver more in early intervention and prevention initiatives.

Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister should “provide an update on the progress of the promised 500 frontline workers and an explanation on why the commitment is tracking so poorly”, in a joint statement with other shadow ministers on Wednesday.

“Australia is the best country in the world, but we have to be able to look in the mirror and when half the population is saying they feel unsafe, then fixing that must be the first priority of all governments,” she said.

Lower house crossbenchers Zali Steggall and Kylea Tink – who with other MPs had requested a sentencing review to create more accountability for perpetrators in the justice system, as well as government-funded independent legal representation for women – said they were disappointed.

“National cabinet has failed to announce urgent, systemic and widespread change required to keep women safe,” Steggall said.

Sydney MPs Zali Steggall and Kylea Tink.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Tink said it failed to focus on the men who perpetrated violence. “As a society, we need stronger perpetrator accountability for domestic and gender violence. In cases of violence, the burden must be on the perpetrator to leave home, not the victim,” she said.

The Greens women’s spokesperson, Larissa Waters, described Wednesday’s meeting as underwhelming. “The calls by tens of thousands rallying over the weekend, and from frontline support services for many years asking for adequate funding to meet demand, were ignored.”

She said the $925 million investment would help women reach out to support services. “But with those services already drastically underfunded, this announcement will simply increase demand on an already stretched sector.”

State and premier leaders said they would improve how they shared information about perpetrators across different systems and jurisdictions, in a process led by federal Minister for Women Katy Gallagher. They will also look to each other for best-practice examples on tackling the crisis.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during national cabinet on Wednesday.Credit: NCA Newswire

Albanese also announced his government would legislate to ban deep-fake pornography, and extend its “Stop it at the Start” campaign which focuses on changing young men’s attitudes. Other measures he pointed to, such as an expedited review of the online safety act and doxxing laws, have been under way since last year.

Asked if he thought Australians would be satisfied by Wednesday’s outcomes, Albanese said: “I am satisfied it is a further step forward. Can we be satisfied when a woman is losing her life on average every four days? Of course not.

“I will be satisfied when we eliminate this as an issue, when we’re not talking about this an issue, where women are not feeling as though they have to mobilise in rallies,” he said.

“I will be satisfied when a parent says the same thing to their daughter that they say to their son when they go out at night. Not, ‘how are you getting home from the train station?’, ‘how are you getting home from the bus stop?’. Not, ‘stay safe’.”

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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