Recommendation 159

Women and children in Australia have the right to feel safe and live without fear of violence.

The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-22 (National Plan) is a 12 year plan that aims to reduce violence against women and their children. The National Plan was released in February 2011 and is being delivered through four three-year action Plans. The National Plan provides a mechanism to drive effort and make investment in reducing domestic, family and sexual violence.

The Third Action Plan 2016-2019 of the National Plan sets out 36 practical actions, across six National Priority areas, these being:

- prevention and early intervention;
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children;
- greater support and choice;
- sexual violence;
- responding to children living with violence; and
- keeping perpetrators accountable across all systems.

The Australian Government has made additional funding commitments towards women's safety in recent years:

• Additional $100 million in 2016-17 Budget under the Third Action Plan.
• $100 million Women's Safety Package, announced September 2015.
• New funding of $54.4 million in the 2018-19 Budget.
• $117.2 million under the 2017-18 Transitional National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which prioritises women and children experiencing domestic and family violence.

The implementation of the National Plan is monitored through formal mechanisms and each of the action plans is independently evaluated.

A key action of the National Plan was to increase the monitoring of actual and reported rates of violence against women. The Australian Government funds the collection of Personal Safety data through the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Also funded is a National Community Attitudes Survey which measures community attitudes to violence, including domestic and family violence. This is delivered by a team of sub-contractors from the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Social Research Centre.

For information about state and territory policies and programmes related to domestic and family violence, visit:

• Australian Capital Territory – Community Services Directorate
• New South Wales – Domestic Violence
• Northern Territory – Domestic and Family Violence
• Queensland – End Domestic and Family Violence  
• South Australia – Office for Women
• Tasmania – Department of Premier and Cabinet – Safe Homes, Safe Families
• Victoria – Department of Health and Human Services – Families and Children
• Western Australia – Department of Communities, Child Protection and Family Support