Between April 2023 and March 2024 in New South Wales there were 36,513 domestic violence assault incidents recorded and the state rate for domestic-violence related assaults reported to police was 447.1 per 100,000 persons and the NSW regional rate was 596.7 per 100,000 persons.
Across New South Wales during the same time period there were 15,728 incidents where adult women were recorded as victims of intimate partner domestic violence along with 5,926 incidents where adult women were the victims of family violence.
From April 2004 to March 2024 there were 15 domestic violence-related female murder victims in NSW - 11 were murdered by an intimate partner and 4 were murdered by a family member.
Between April 2023 and March 2024 domestic violence-related assault rates per 100,000 population in the Northern Rivers local government areas were:
Richmond Valley - 772.1
Clarence Valley - 709.8
Lismore City - 496.9
Tweed - 324.6
Byron - 312.2
Ballina - 303.1
Kyogle - 37.9.
Three of the seven local government areas exceeded the state rate for domestic violence-related assaults reported to police, two exceeded the NSW regional rate & three also exceeded the Northern Rivers estimated overall rate of 422.3 incidents per 100,000.
Note: All statistics were found in NSW BOCSAR, Trends in Domestic & Family violence – quarterly March report 2024 & Domestic Violence Assault Regional Comparison Tool
Neither New South Wales nor the Northern Rivers region are unique in the level of domestic violence-related assaults and murders within their communities, violence against women and girls is endemic within Australia.
So it was heartening to see the Australian National Cabinet's detailed announcement at the end of last week which included a $4.7 billion funding package.
Media statement
Friday 6 September 2024
National Cabinet met in Canberra today to agree practical next steps to accelerate action to end gender-based violence in a generation and deliver on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.
First Ministers agreed that ending the national crisis of gender-based violence, including violence against children and young people, will remain an ongoing priority for National Cabinet. First Ministers acknowledged that a coordinated approach across all states and territories is required to address this national crisis.
National Cabinet is committed to maintaining a central focus on missing and murdered First Nations women and children and agreed that all government commitments on gender-based violence must explicitly consider the needs and experiences of First Nations people, and be delivered in genuine partnership with First Nations communities.
Today, National Cabinet agreed a comprehensive $4.7 billion package that harnesses important opportunities to work together to prevent violence and support legal services. It brings together efforts and funding to:
— Deliver much needed support for frontline specialist and legal services responding to gender based violence.
— Innovative approaches to better identify and respond to high-risk perpetrators to stop violence escalating.
— Address the role that systems and harmful industries play in exacerbating violence.
These actions are guided by the valuable contributions of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches. The recommendations of the review have guided immediate actions and First Ministers have agreed to use the review’s recommendations to inform strengthened efforts across all governments to deliver the National Plan. Governments will progressively respond to the review with the collective response overseen by Women and Women’s Safety Minister’s Meeting over time.
Today, National Cabinet signed the Heads of Agreement for a new National Access to Justice Partnership, including a critical $800 million increase in funding to the legal assistance sector over five years, with a focus on uplifting legal services responding to gender-based violence.
Under this agreement, the Commonwealth will invest $3.9 billion over five years from 1 July 2025 and for the first time will provide ongoing funding beyond the five year agreement so that the sector has long-term funding certainty.
National Cabinet agreed to negotiate a renewed, five year National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses, to commence on 1 July 2025 and deliver over $700 million in new matched investments from the Commonwealth and states and territories.
The new agreement will support greater flexibility for states and territories to direct funding to meet local need, and will be accompanied by stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms. It will include a focus on nationally coordinated approaches to support prevention activities through frontline services, including funding for:
— Specialist services for women.
— Services to support children exposed to family, domestic and sexual violence to heal and recover.
— Working with men, including men’s behaviour change programs for perpetrators of gendered violence.
Delivering on commitments made at the May National Cabinet on gender based violence, First Ministers today agreed to deliver innovative new approaches to better identify high risk perpetrators, share information about them across systems and state boundaries, and intervene early to stop violence escalating.
First Ministers agreed to:
— Develop new national best practice family and domestic violence risk assessment principles and a model best practice risk assessment framework.
— Support enhancements to the National Criminal Intelligence System, which enables information sharing across jurisdictions, to provide a ‘warning flag’ that will assist police responding to high-risk perpetrators.
— Extend and increase nationally-consistent, two-way information sharing between the family law courts and state and territory courts, child protection, policing and firearms agencies.
— Strengthen system responses to high-risk perpetrators to prevent homicides, by trialling new focussed deterrence models and Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centres. These centres will be able to use intelligence, monitor individuals and intervene with those at high risk of carrying out homicide.
The new risk assessment principles and trials of focussed deterrence models will be developed in close consultation with First Nations people and communities and will give specific consideration to application and implementation of approaches for First Nations people and communities.
Acknowledging the role that systems and industries can play in exacerbating violence, State and Territory First Ministers agreed to review alcohol laws and its impact on family and domestic violence victims to identify and share best practice and reforms and to report back to National Cabinet on progress.
This builds on commitments by the Commonwealth at the May National Cabinet to deliver a range of measures to tackle factors that exacerbate violence against women, including violent online pornography. The Commonwealth will announce a comprehensive response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling in due course.
To help break the cycle of violence, the Commonwealth will start comprehensive work with sector experts to identify gaps in supports for children and young people who have experienced or witnessed FDSV, to inform the design and implementation of new and revised initiatives and interventions. This work will include a specific focus on First Nations children and young people through culturally safe consultation and expertise.
While this comprehensive work is underway, the Commonwealth will provide an over $80 million boost to enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports for children and young people.
The Commonwealth will also provide funding to establish national standards for men’s behaviour change.
The Commonwealth will immediately commence an audit of key Commonwealth government systems to identify areas where they are being weaponised by perpetrators of family and domestic violence.
This media statement has been agreed by First Ministers and serves as a record of meeting outcomes.
