The Leaving Violence Program remains the key new spending initiative the Albanese Government is leveraging to address the crisis of gender-based violence in Australia.
Last week, the Prime Minister promised a $925.2 million investment over five years to support the program, as a means to address the “national crisis” of male violence against women.
This funding provides an extension and revamp of the similar Escaping Violence Payment program established by the previous Morrison Government. The funding allocated will provide a provisional period to transition into the new program, starting in July 2025.
Many in the sector described the announcement as a start, but nowhere near what’s needed to meet surging demand across frontline services.
During today’s budget lock-up press conference, Minister for Finance and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said that “obviously in this Budget, there is a big focus on women’s safety.”
But this focus was based on pulling up existing spending from the past two years, as well as the additional spending on the Leaving Violence Program and the National Housing Infrastructure Facility. The government promised to direct $1 billion of this spending to support housing for women and children experiencing domestic violence and housing for youth.
From there, the Women’s Budget Statement highlights the $2.3 billion invested in 85 Commonwealth initiatives to support the National Plan to End Violence against Women and children. This funding was allocated in the Albanese Government’s first two budgets.
There is little else in terms of significant new spending provided, despite gender-based violence being front and centre in the Women’s Budget Statement, a hefty document outlining how the government is ensuring gender equality remains centre to decision-making beyond the Budget.
The 88-page document outlines the current stats, including gender-based violence, unpaid and paid care, economic equality and security, health, leadership, representation, and decision-making. It makes strong statements about the need to prioritise these areas and support women’s economic security, health, safety, and opportunity.
But like on women’s safety, across all the priority areas this Budget is tinkering around the edges.
We have included below the new spending announced in the 2024-25 Federal Budget, excluding what was funded in previous governments. In some cases, what has been outlined is new money allocated for existing measures.
New spending outlined under the priority area of addressing gender-based violence:
Direct spending on addressing gender-based violence
- $925 million for the Leaving Violence Program. This is over five years, and includes the one year transition period from the existing program to the revamped LVP, commencing in July 2025.
- $4.3 million for Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) to further build the evidence base on pathways into and out of perpetration
- $3.9 million over four years for additional resourcing for the Office for Women to support whole-of-government coordination efforts towards women’s safety
- $6 million over two years for the provision of trauma-informed local outreach healthcare in crisis and temporary accommodation and services, to support women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence.
- $18.7 million over four years to develop and introduce a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based violence
- $6.1 million over four years to continue specialised support for visa holders experiencing domestic and family violence through the Domestic and Family Violence visa support service. This is new funding to extend an existing program.
Less direct spending on addressing gender-based violence
- Targeting $1 billion increase to the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to better support housing for women and children experiencing domestic violence and youth
- $6.5 million to develop a pilot of age assurance technologies to protect children from harmful online content, like pornography and other age-restricted online services
- $11.7 million over two years to extend the First Nations Family Dispute Resolution pilot, giving the program further time to establish new culturally safe and appropriate family dispute resolution service models
- $44.1 million for the National Legal Assistance Partnership and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, including on-year indexation supplementation to the funding for Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
- $19.4 million over two years to establish an independent National Student Ombudsman – which will investigate student complaints and resolve disputes with higher education providers
See more on our 2024 Federal Budget Coverage:
What’s in the Federal Budget 2024-25 for women?
New miscarriage database funded, and more women’s health spending
Limited support for ‘Crisis’ of domestic and family violence