Site issue stalls DV action plan

A Brisbane site earmarked as part of a $22.9 million domestic and family violence response trial has failed to get off the ground after plans were left in limbo for more than six months.

Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm. Picture: Des Houghton

A Brisbane site earmarked as part of a $22.9 million domestic and family violence response trial has failed to get off the ground after plans were left in limbo for more than six months.

And with only a little more than a year left until the trial ends, the LNP Government are facing a time crunch to open a second location promised in the south east.

Announced by the former Labor government, the early intervention model involves Queensland Police and partnered domestic violence specialist services attending callouts together and has been running in Cairns since July 2024.

As part of the multimillion dollar trial, South Brisbane was announced in September, but was never successfully tendered after the October election.

Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm said the government is working to identify a second location, however did reveal when it would be announced.

The future of the model beyond 2026 remains unclear and Ms Camm did not respond to questions on whether further funding to make it permanent would feature in next month’s budget.

“I have seen and heard firsthand how successful the domestic and family violence co-response trials have been in the Cairns district,” Ms Camm said.

“The Crisafulli Government is evaluating the Cairns trial to understand the outcomes for victim survivors and persons using violence.

“We are working closely with the Queensland Police Service as part of the evaluation process and the identification of a new trial location.”

Relationships Australia Queensland partner with police in Cairns and regional manager of the co-response operation Alisha Lyngcoln said it has helped reduce the risk of misidentifying the person in need of protection, provide a safe response to victim-survivors and support police as demand escalates.

“To be able to respond and give the options directly to victim survivors and persons using violence, we’re able to provide some of the agency support that some people might not reach out to,” Ms Lyngcoln said.

“We’re really advocating for government to fund these innovations in domestic and family violence, in that early intervention and the co- response pilot ... which can really improve the safety for the whole family.”

Expanding beyond the Cairns region would be pivotal in evaluating the future and success of the model, Ms Lyngcoln said.

The co-responder model was recommended by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in 2023.

Last year police were called to 200,000 domestic and family violence jobs across the state.

Ms Camm has vowed to bring down victim numbers, introducing the first tranche of reforms, including instant victim protections and GPS tracking for the worst offenders.

Originally published as Site issue stalls DV action plan