A woman fled her abuser. Then Service NSW sent him her new address

A woman who fled her abuser with help from domestic violence services and police is fearing for her safety again after Service NSW gave him her new address.

In September, a man – who has links to organised crime – trapped the woman in the Queensland house they shared in a culmination of escalating domestic abuse. When police arrived, they urged her to leave during the brief period they could detain him.

A local domestic violence organisation gave her food and fuel vouchers, and booked her into hotel rooms under a pseudonym.

Service NSW sent the address of a woman’s safe house to her abuser.Credit: iStock

She drove to a house rented by her cousin in NSW with the few belongings she grabbed as she left, using a convoluted inland route so her abuser could not follow her. When she arrived, “I was shaking and crying and thinking, ‘thank god I’m away from there’,” she told this masthead. “He can’t find me now, I can rebuild my life.”

The woman called Service NSW to update her driver’s licence and registration, telling them her new address and that she had fled Queensland due to domestic violence. She said they assured her that everything would be sent to her new address.

When she did not receive the change of address stickers after around a week, she called back. The operator said “unfortunately” the stickers had been sent to the Queensland address she shared with her abuser. “I started crying down the phone,” she said. She lodged a complaint.

This masthead is not naming the woman to protect her safety and identity, but has seen documents that substantiate her story.

Service NSW has acknowledged the error. An email to the woman last week from a “continuous improvement” manager, seen by this masthead, said Service NSW had sent a food hamper, supplied replacement number plates and details of a counsellor.

“We are deeply sorry Service NSW made a mistake by sending your new address labels to your previous address in Queensland early in October 2022,” the email said. “We acknowledge this mistake may have resulted in your personal address information being exposed to the occupant of this address.

“This mistake was human error and unintentional and we are working to strengthen our internal controls.”

Police documents - shown with permission - relating to the abuse of a woman who fled Queensland for NSW.

However, the woman said the organisation had been slow to respond to the complaint and organised services for which she did not ask. The mistake has caused her significant emotional and financial distress.

She is still living in the house – which she is too frightened to leave, even briefly – due to a tight rental market that is making finding another home difficult. She also faces costs such as break-of-lease and moving fees. She wants compensation.

“I did the right thing – I fled [an abusive situation]. I trusted a government service with my information,” she said.

“Just because something hasn’t happened [to me] yet, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to. How often has this happened? The NSW government has said ‘domestic violence is our biggest priority, we need to keep them safe’. Then it does this, and I’m living the consequences.”

A Service NSW spokesman said the agency was unable to comment on an individual customer for privacy reasons.

“Service NSW considers the safety and privacy of customers its highest priority and is constantly reviewing its systems and policies to ensure at-risk customers are provided with the utmost care,” he said in a statement.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

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