Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I went to one of those schools that does school reunions every 10 years. It's quite a competitive school. Our first couple of reunions were before the advent of Facebook, so, when we met up for our 10-year reunion, many of us had not seen each other since year 12. The 10-year reunion was about careers and marriages—who had married whom, how fantastic their lives were and who was living the dream. The 20-year reunion was about children—photos of adorable cherubs in colour coordinated family photos. The 30-year reunion was about divorce, and that's when the truth came out—the school friend whose marriage had lasted three months because their new spouse had beaten them so badly they'd had a broken leg; the school friend who, despite having a PhD and a very high-powered job, had spent close to two decades hiding bruises, dealing with blow-ups from their spouse that alienated friends and family and being isolated; and the school friend who had brought mementoes of herself to her children while she made plans to suicide to escape violence and coercive control.

Domestic and family violence, sadly, is in every strata of community irrespective of culture, education level, financial resources or age. It exists in first relationships in teenage years, in same-sex couples, in couples without children and in couples with children. In my work in women's homelessness, I saw women who had grown up as children in violent homes who were still showing the effects decades later. They had difficulty forming or keeping a trusting relationship, be it an intimate relationship, a friendship or a collegial relationship at work. Under pressure, they often made decisions that were based on a sense of vulnerability or downright panic. Sixty per cent or more of the women that we saw experiencing homelessness came from a domestic or family violence background. They were either escaping imminent violence or had a background that included violence. We know that one in four women and one in 14 men have experienced violence by an intimate partner since the age of 15.

The societal impacts of domestic and family violence are profound. It costs the Australian economy an estimated $26 billion annually. It places significant pressure on healthcare services, police, the justice system and support services. Domestic and family violence is also the leading cause of preventable death, disability and illness for women aged 15 to 44, and it's the primary driver of homelessness. It impacts workplaces—affecting retention, productivity and staff morale—and it's a human rights issue. No-one should have to live with the threat of violence hanging over them. No-one should be subject to coercive control or financial or psychological abuse.

The Albanese Labor government renews its commitment to building a safer Australia, where every woman and child can live free from gender-based violence. Ending gender based violence is a national priority for the Albanese Labor government. It's why we've invested more money into addressing this scourge than any previous government, but it is something every single one of us in this place—and, indeed, every single Australian—has a role to play in.

A few months ago I attended a Rotary event in Adelaide called Purple Waves of Change, where 10 Rotary clubs across southern Adelaide came together to run an event to raise funds and raise awareness about the impact of family and domestic violence on our communities. I give a shout-out to Holdfast Bay Rotary Club, Glenelg Rotary Club and Somerton Park Rotary Club, all in my electorate of Boothby, who participated in this event. We heard from Sally, who spoke about her experience of domestic violence and her experience of trying to leave that relationship. It took her six years to successfully leave. On average a woman will try seven times before she successfully leaves, and we know that the time of leaving, when the perpetrator is losing control over her, is often the most dangerous period. Sally's ex stalked her for many years, extending the fear and threat of violence as she tried to establish a new, secure and safe life for herself.

The great thing about having organisations like Rotary, which reach out into the community with the message that violence is not okay, is that we need the message to be echoed at the grassroots level. It can't just be the women's organisations or the anti-violence or DV-specific services. This requires a cultural change, and that means everyone. It needs to be something that everyone knows is a basic standard of decency in the community. People need to know: if you're using violence, your friends, your family, your neighbours and your colleagues will be horrified.

While we need the community to come along on this journey and establish a culture of safety and nonviolence, we recognise that there is a really important role for government in this as well. The Albanese government has invested more than any previous government in directly tackling this appalling scourge on our society. Since coming to government, Labor has invested more than $4 billion in frontline services, preventive programs, behaviour change and programs for children. We've made the leaving violence payment permanent—$5,000 in financial help and safety planning for women leaving violence. We know that women often stay in dangerous relationships because they can't see any way out other than homelessness, which is itself a significant safety risk, so we have invested $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional accommodation.

We've legislated 10 days of paid domestic violence leave so women can make the arrangements to leave and talk to lawyers and other services without having to lose money or organise such appointments after hours, when it might alert the perpetrators that they're leaving. We've expanded the discretion for Centrelink so perpetrators can't use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. This is called the special circumstances debt waiver.

We've reformed the family law system so that it is safer, simpler and more accessible. With the states and territories, we've improved criminal justice responses to sexual violence. We've invested record legal services funding—an extra $800 million in family violence legal services—and we've established the new National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, with legislation passed in the last sitting.

We're also focused on the prevention of sexual violence through a better understanding of consent. Our government has invested $40 million in the Consent Can't Wait campaign, launched on 26 May 2024, and we've invested $3.5 million to support Teach Us Consent to develop and distribute social media resources for young people aged 16 and above about sexual violence and consent. We've invested $8.3 million in the Partners in Prevention of Sexual Violence project with La Trobe University to build the evidence base on what works to prevent sexual violence.

In May 2024 the government commissioned an expert panel to conduct a rapid review of prevention approaches to gender based violence. The review complemented the work underway under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children and provided advice to government about opportunities to further accelerate efforts. The rapid review was received in August, and, on 6 September 2024, National Cabinet agreed to progressively respond to the rapid review and use its recommendations to inform strengthened prevention services across all governments, state and federal.

Since then, our government has invested $3.9 billion in the new National Access to Justice Partnership, including a critical $800 million increase in funding to the legal assistance sector. We've invested $82.4 million to strengthen responses to high-risk and serial perpetrators of family and domestic violence, including developing national risk assessment principles and trialling innovative approaches to high-risk perpetrators. We've invested $81.3 million to enhance and expand child-centric, trauma-informed supports for children and young people with experience of violence, and today Minister Plibersek announced a further 72 per cent increase in funding for frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workers.

Minister Plibersek has also made a referral to the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, which I chair, to conduct an inquiry into the linkages between family, domestic and sexual violence and suicide. Suicides in the context of family, domestic and sexual violence, including coercive control, are not currently counted in the statistics of domestic violence fatalities. This was one of the recommendations of the rapid review and is something advocates have been calling for, for a long time.

We are currently calling for submissions that respond to the terms of reference, which are on the committee website and the Parliament House website. So far we've received around 130 high-quality submissions from peak bodies, organisations and individuals from the family domestic violence sector, the sexual assault and sexual abuse survivors sector and suicide mental health sectors, as well as submissions from multicultural groups, men's groups, LGBTQI groups and groups representing children, young people and much more. This is an important piece of work, and we're keen to ensure we've looked at it in the context of the broad community. If you're interested, please have a look at the website and respond to the terms of reference.

Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I first prepared this speech following the release of the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to parliament on 30 October 2025. The very next day, on Friday 31 October 2025, Rhukaya Lake was murdered. It's understood that a child raised the alarm by running around 400 metres down the road to alert passing motorists. She was the 58th Australian woman murdered this year. Since her murder, 32 more women have been murdered, including 12 women murdered this year. The Australian Institute of Criminology tells us that, on average, one woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner in this country. But last year it was almost two a week. Seventy-eight women killed last year, 12 killed this year—this is absolutely a national emergency.

The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's 2025 annual report is the second look at the progress of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. It is both a tribute to the work already done and a sober reminder of how far we still must go as a government to end family, domestic and sexual violence in our country. I acknowledge the victims and survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence—the women, children and men who have lived through trauma and who, tragically, did not survive it. Everything we do must be in memory of them and in service of ensuring no more lives are lost. I extend my deep thanks to Commissioner Micaela Cronin and her dedicated team—and the Lived Experience Advisory Council, whose powerful call to action in this report ensures that lived experience is front and centre and continues to guide our national response.

As a former domestic violence lawyer, I have seen firsthand the deep and enduring impact of violence—not just physical violence but emotional, financial and psychological control that isolates and dehumanises. Most Australians would be shocked to learn that our courts deal with thousands of domestic violence matters each and every day. This is the pointy end of the cycle; thousands more are impacted behind closed doors and on police callouts each and every day. Domestic, family and sexual violence is not confined to one postcode, one income bracket or one culture; it is an abuse of power and it thrives in silence. We cannot stand by or be silent. Ending domestic, family and sexual violence is not optional; it is a moral and national imperative, and the Albanese Labor government takes it very seriously.

I recognise and thank the extraordinary people and organisations who confront this reality every day—the frontline domestic, family and sexual violence workers. Since my election, I've made it a priority to meet with those doing the life-saving work of prevention, response, recovery and reform—many of whom I've had the privilege of also working alongside over the years. This includes organisations like Beyond DV, with their Hope Hub located in Westfield Carindale and now expanding across the state; 54 Reasons and Save the Children, who are ensuring children impacted by violence are seen, heard and believed; the Red Rose Foundation, which is raising awareness of non-lethal strangulation and the red flags of escalating violence—the only organisation of its kind nationally; and Wynnum Manly Rotary and Rotary clubs right across the country, where community compassion drives local prevention and supports those efforts.

Locally, Pete's Pantry and Rosie's in Wynnum provide food support and friendship. Work Haven offers refuge and pathways to empowerment for women fleeing violence. Women's Health and Equality Queensland advances gender equality and trauma-informed health services over the phone statewide in Queensland and in person. Lucy's Project champions the protection of animals and domestic violence situations, recognising that pets are often victims too or used to prevent women and children from leaving. The StandbyU Foundation creates innovative technology solutions to help women and children leave safely through their Shield Watch and in-person support services. DV Safe Phone collect and repurpose mobile phones to give survivors a safe line to help, and many MPs in this place have collection boxes for DV safe phones. Safe Steps lead crisis response and 24/7 support for women and children across Australia. Micah Projects and Brisbane Domestic Violence Service assist those experiencing homelessness, poverty and violence with compassion and respect right across Queensland. Of course Community Legal Centres Queensland continue to stand beside some of the most vulnerable, ensuring access to justice with 34 centres across the state. Last, but certainly not least, our police force do the heart-wrenching work each and every day on thousands of police callouts in Queensland. Our vulnerable persons unit has done incredible work over the years—a really big shout out to all of those officers who are on the front line. To all who dedicate their lives to this work, thank you. You are the quiet heroes of this national effort, and your resilience, compassion and commitment absolutely save lives.

The commission's report reveals overwhelming truths. It is estimated that 2.8 million Australians have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. That is one in every four women in this country. Violence disproportionately impacts First Nations Australians, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 33 times more likely than other Australian women to be hospitalised due to family violence and seven times more likely to be homicide victims. Rhukaya Lake, who was murdered on 31 October last year, was a First Nations woman.

I'm proud to stand in a government that is not just acknowledging this crisis but actually doing something about it. Through the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, we have invested more than $4 billion since 2022. That is the largest investment by any government in Australia's history. We made permanent the leaving violence payment, which offers $5,000 in financial support to those fleeing intimate partner violence, along with referrals, risk assessments and safety planning. We've also delivered $1.2 billion for new crisis and transitional accommodation, ensuring older women, younger Australians and those fleeing violence have access to safe and stable housing. In my own electorate of Bonner, 24 new homes are currently being built through these programs. We've legislated 10 days of paid domestic and family violence leave, ensuring that no-one in the workplace loses out when they reach out for help. We've also taken bold steps to audit Commonwealth systems so they cannot be weaponised by perpetrators of abuse, including reforms under the Social Security Act to make sure perpetrators cannot use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. We've also reformed the family law system. We've partnered with states and territories to deliver stronger justice responses to sexual violence. We've committed an extra $800 million for family violence legal services across the country. These are real, tangible steps, but this report makes clear they are only the beginning.

We must recognise that violence evolves, and so must our response. I've been inundated by stories of women whose phones are being tapped and controlled by their former partners. Men are also embracing hateful views towards women, word for word from the manosphere handbook. I know every female MP in this place faces daily hate on social media platforms, and many women escaping violence are also confronted with online harms. Gender based violence is now extending into online spaces through predatory technologies, deepfakes, nudify apps and undetectable stalking tools. That is why we must take more action to address online harms, like banning predatory technologies, restricting access to tools that are used to harass, control and degrade women and children, because women and children deserve to be safe everywhere in their homes, in their communities and, of course, online.

The commission's report also calls for us to deepen our engagement with lived experience to ensure we genuinely listen, learn and embed voices at every level of decision-making.

It highlights five critical insights. Firstly, prevention must begin in childhood through education. We now have 80,000 educators being trained in trauma informed models. It also talks about how effective solutions come from those most affected. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ communities and multicultural communities must be consulted and included in making the decisions that impact them. Thirdly, our systems must stop working in silos. We need all of our systems—child protection, family law, health services—to interact in a way that makes women and children safe. And, finally, our institutions must move from control to care. When someone in crisis calls for help, they should be met with compassion, not judgement. Safety is a right, not a privilege.

Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'I'm struck not by despair but by a profound sense of possibility and urgency.' Those are the words of Australia's Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner in her most recent annual report to this parliament. That report tracks our progress under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. It is both a stocktake and a call to action.

The scale of the task is clear. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' personal safety survey, one in four women has experienced violence by an intimate partner since the age of 15 and one in five has experienced sexual violence. One in eight Australians have witnessed violence between a parent and a partner as a child. Behind every statistic is a story of someone trying to stay safe while navigating systems that were not always designed with their safety at the centre. Behind those numbers are lived experiences in communities across the country, where individuals seek safety, stability and dignity.

Ending domestic, family and sexual violence requires early intervention, crisis response, recovery support and prevention. It requires sustained national leadership and a commitment that extends beyond any single policy decision. That is why the Albanese Labor government has committed more than $4 billion since 2022, across prevention, early intervention, response and recovery measures under the national plan. This investment recognises that violence against women and children is not an isolated issue. It intersects with housing, health, education, justice, employment and community wellbeing. Addressing it requires coordinated action across all levels of government and across multiple systems.

It begins with making sure help is there when someone reaches out. 1800RESPECT, the National Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service, responded to more than 340,000 contacts last financial year across phone, online chat, SMS and video. Each of those contacts represents a person seeking support, advice and safety. To ensure every contact is answered, the government delivered a 40 per cent funding boost, an additional $41.8 million, bringing the total investment to $146.8 million through to 30 June 2027. That funding expands capacity and supports new communication channels, recognising that not everyone can safely pick up the phone.

But crisis support is only one part of the response. Victims-survivors also need practical support to rebuild their lives. We made the Leaving Violence Program permanent, providing financial assistance of up to $5,000 to help eligible victims-survivors leave violent relationships safely. For many people experiencing violence, financial dependence is one of the most significant barriers to leaving. Access to immediate financial assistance can help people secure temporary accommodation, transport, legal advice or essential items during a time of crisis.

Ten days of family and domestic violence leave is now a permanent entitlement for all employees. We have strengthened protections so that victims-survivors cannot be discriminated against or dismissed because of their experience of violence. No-one should have to choose between safety and a pay cheque. Workplaces play an important role in supporting safety and stability, and these protections recognise that employment security can be a vital part of recovery. We've also acted to prevent the misuse of government payments, recognising that financial control is a core element of coercive control. Ensuring that payments reach the person they are intended to support helps strengthen financial independence and prevents further harm.

Housing is fundamental to safety. Around 40 per cent of people accessing specialist homelessness services have experienced domestic and family violence. Escaping violence must not mean entering homelessness. For too many victims-survivors, the absence of a safe and affordable house can make leaving a violent relationship so much more difficult. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund and related programs, we are delivering thousands of new social and affordable homes nationwide alongside targeted investments in crisis and transitional accommodation. These investments recognise that safe housing is essential for long-term stability and recovery.

We are also holding perpetrators to account with more than $80 million invested in initiatives targeting high-risk and serial offenders, improving risk assessment and intervention. Strong responses to perpetrators are necessary to reduce repeat offending and protect victims-survivors.

Technology-facilitated abuse is one of the fastest-growing forms of harm. The government has strengthened online safety laws, taken action against image based abuse and stalking technologies and continues to support enforcement through the eSafety framework. These reforms recognise that abuse increasingly occurs through digital forms and connected technologies.

We've also introduced the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, strengthening accountability across universities. Students deserve to pursue education in environments that are safe, respectful and free from violence and harassment.

We are investing in children with funding committed for child focused counselling and recovery services, recognising that early support changes life trajectories. Children who experience violence require specialised support to help them recover and thrive.

Legal assistance also remains a cornerstone. We have committed a record $3.9 billion to the legal assistance sector over five years, including an additional $800 million for family violence and women's legal services. This investment strengthens the ability of community legal centres, legal aid commissions and specialist services to support victims-survivors through complex legal processes.

But reform is only as strong as the workforce that delivers it. Today, the Albanese Labor government announced a 72 per cent funding boost for frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workers. This is a new $291.7 million investment in the next phase of the 500 Workers Initiative. It builds on the $169.4 million invested in the 2022-23 budget to deliver 500 additional frontline workers in every state and territory. This expanded investment recognises the skill, expertise and emotional labour of specialist workers supporting women and children fleeing violence. Frontline workers are the people who answer calls for help, support families in crisis and guide victims-survivors through recovery. Their work is complex and deeply important. Supporting this workforce means ensuring they have the resources and stability needed to continue providing critical services. This funding supports the sustainability and security of this critical workforce, with funding flowing to states and territories from 1 July under the family, domestic and sexual violence federation funding agreement.

The commissioner's report is clear—demand continues to outpace capacity. Nationally, there are approximately 9,000 specialist domestic and family violence workers, yet the majority of cases are still managed across the broader health, justice, housing and policing systems. If we are serious about implementation, about turning plans into protection, we must strengthen and stabilise the front line. That is what this investment does.

Ending gender based violence is not the responsibility of one portfolio or one tier of government. It requires coordination across housing, justice, education, health, employment and social services. It requires prevention, teaching respect and equality early, and it requires accountability. The commissioner reminds us that the challenge is not identifying solutions. We know what works: early intervention, stable housing, economic security, accessible counselling, strong legal protections and perpetrator accountability. The challenge is sustained implementation. There is urgency because the harm is real and ongoing, but there is also possibility because we are building the systems, funding the workforce and embedding accountability. We will continue this work methodically, collaboratively and with resolve until safety is a guarantee for every woman and every child in this country.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government established the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission to provide national leadership and promote national coordination in seeking to address the scourge of violence against women and children. Working across government and across our communities is the only way we can work together towards ending violence against women and children in a generation.

This is not easy. In fact, most of the time it feels impossible. Every day there is a story of a woman dying at the hands of family members, stories of death, stories of shattered lives and families who will never recover. Let's be clear: you don't recover from a woman or child in your family being killed by a husband, by a father, by another family member—you don't. This violence destroys lives and communities forever, yet incidents of violence against women and children are increasing. More lives will be lost and many more will be destroyed. And what for? What could be more senseless?

The Albanese Labor government understands this and is working towards strengthening prevention approaches by addressing factors that exacerbate violence, such as access to alcohol and access to pornography and misogynistic online content. It also is seeking to improve information sharing for those who respond to high-risk and serial perpetrators of domestic and family violence, not forgetting that sometimes their lives are shattered too because of what they witness and what they investigate.

We also need to continue to amplify the voices of people with lived experience, and living with experience, to have meaningful engagement with them in shaping policy design and service delivery. People with lived experience need to be supported to be able to participate in policy development and implementation decisions, because we know that the best people to help us make change and improve the system are those who have needed it most in the past. Because there is an epidemic of violence against women and children, there are people available to contribute to this, but they need to be supported, cared for and guided through this process because they're willing to be a part of it.

A constituent of my electorate of Sturt recently came to see me to tell me her story, which was an absolutely appalling outline of betrayal, failure and devastation. She was here in Australia by virtue of her marriage, without any family of her own and without any support networks. She outlined to me the fear and helplessness she felt after her husband took away her access to her own bank account, into which money she earned from her own job was distributed. She outlined the despair she felt when she was tracked, monitored, spied on by the person who was supposed to love her forever. She outlined the utter desperation and terror she felt when he held a knife to her neck and sexually assaulted her. Then she outlined the confusion and frustration she felt as she tried, at her absolute lowest ebb, to navigate police processes, domestic violence support services and the courts.

Despite all of this, she then told me that she had come to see me because she wanted to do what she could to ensure that other women would never share her story. This is what all women want. This is, in fact, what all reasonable Australians—men and women—want. If my constituent, after what she went through, has the courage, resilience and fortitude to want to make change for others, then the rest of society simply has no excuse.

My constituent was also at pains to tell me that she received empathetic and caring support from the Legal Services Commission of South Australia, who helped her to understand what was happening in the legal system and what her options were. I'm not going to name the woman who came to see me, and so I can't name those wonderful lawyers at the Legal Services Commission of South Australia who helped her. Instead, I offer my heartfelt gratitude to those women for doing what they could to make an uncertain, confusing and frankly terrifying process just that little bit easier for my constituent.

In South Australia, Ms Natasha Stott Despoja AO was appointed as the Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. In her capacity as the commissioner, she was recently charged with holding a royal commission into that violence, which aimed to address several factors. These included prevention—how we can facilitate widespread change in the underlying social drivers of domestic, family and sexual violence; early intervention—how we can improve effective early intervention through the identification and support of individuals who are at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating domestic, family and sexual violence; responding—how we can ensure best-practice responses to these types of violence through the provision of services and supports; recovery and healing—how we can embed an approach that supports recovery and healing through reducing the risk of retraumatisation and supporting victims-survivors to be safe and healthy; and coordination—how government agencies, non-government organisations and communities can better integrate and coordinate efforts across the spectrum of prevention, intervention, response and recovery.

But this is not just a South Australian issue. This is a national issue, which is why this government has invested $4 billion into the prevention of family, domestic and sexual violence since 2022. Natasha and her colleagues needed to hear from all relevant stakeholders, so particular regard was given to the views and experiences of victims-survivors and those with lived experience; First Nations people, their communities and organisations; culturally and linguistically diverse communities; LGBTQIA communities; people living with a disability; children and young people; older South Australians; people living in regional and remote communities; experts, service providers and leaders in domestic, family and sexual violence; medical professionals, including mental health providers; and police and the legal sector, including those involved in court administration and victim support. What that tells us is that relevant stakeholders were in fact the entire community. The entire community has skin in the game when it comes to ending violence against women and children. The breadth of the stakeholders shows just how wide this scourge is. No part of the community is untouched. It's community wide. It's an embedded problem. Everyone needs to understand that they have a responsibility to contribute to eliminating it.

The report that was issued after this royal commission concluded contained 120 recommendations ranging from e-safety to alcohol, education and peer support, more funding, and more support in courtrooms. This is 120 recommendations just in one state. There is work to do. Empowering women, as this government seeks to do, is part of the solution. If a woman has a job and is paid a fair wage for doing it, she has agency and the ability to make hard choices if she needs to. Domestic and family violence is not limited to a certain section of the community. It affects women of every income level. However, empowering those on the lowest incomes, such as women working in the care economy, is critical. Pay rises in that industry together with superannuation on paid parental leave are just two initiatives that give women more options should they ever need to consider them because of family and domestic violence.

Finally, there is another section of the community that can contribute to ending domestic and family violence against women. That section is those that are perpetrating this violence. To those perpetrators, please hear this: you are the problem. The problem is not your wife. The problem is not your girlfriend, your spouse or your child. The problem is you and your inability and unwillingness to control your own behaviour. Your problem is that you look for someone to blame and fail to be accountable for your own decisions. You are the problem, and you need to accept that and stop it. Stop committing acts of violence within your own family. Stop the killing. Stop the violence. Stop the death. Stop destroying the lives of those you are meant to love. Stop it now.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well said, Member for Sturt. It's 2026, and there should be no more silence about domestic and family violence. There should be no more domestic and family violence. It is sad that we are devoting time, yet again, to this scourge—and it is a scourge. It's a national scourge. It's a scourge throughout our states, and I'll come to that in a minute. It's a scourge throughout our local communities.

In Riverina, I am in one sense ashamed to admit, between October 2024 and September last year there were more than a thousand cases of domestic violence: Wagga Wagga, 480; Lockhart, just seven—I say 'just'; it's seven too many, but that was the lowest number of all the local government areas that I represent; Cootamundra-Gundagai, 59; Cowra, 101; Junee, 38; Temora, 15; Snowy Valley, 77; Yass Valley, 58; Upper Lachlan, 16; Coolamon, 24; Hilltops, 122; and Weddin, 18. They're not just numbers; they're people—women—who have been set upon, mostly by their intimate partners. It's simply not good enough. It's simply not right, and, as the member for Sturt quite correctly pointed out, it has to stop. It must stop now. Anything the government can do funding-wise, in alerts or whatever the case might be, I certainly would very much welcome, as I'm sure every member of the parliament would.

We heard the member for Bonner earlier talking about how female MPs are subjected to vile filth via their social media accounts. That is so regrettable. Men are too, but not to the sorts of derogatory comments that women receive not just on a daily basis but every time they post. Every time they put something up, they've got people out there, generally men—almost always men—saying rude and crude things.

When it comes to rude and crude, I know it's been a big topic in the local media—the Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson show has ended. I say, 'Thank goodness!' because I think society is better than that. Some of the things that they've done have been just outrageous. I know we live in a society where they call them 'shock jocks' and the more shocking they are the more listeners they get. Unfortunately, with social media, the more people push the envelope, the more followers they attract and the more 'likes' they receive. And it just goes too far. Some of the stunts that those two radio announcers have done over the years have been nothing more than rude and crude, and it's no wonder that Nerida O'Loughlin, ACMA's chair, said at one stage that enough was enough. People don't need that when they're driving their cars to work, particularly if they've got the children in the car and they're driving them to school. At that hour of the morning—or any hour of the day, quite frankly—people don't need to hear those derogatory remarks, which are often sexualised. They make light of it, and it's not right.

The other thing, too, is that men have an obligation to lead and not to tell jokes amongst themselves—that's where leadership comes in—that are derogatory of women. That's where it starts. It starts in the workplace, at home, at the local sports club—wherever men gather, if they are telling jokes that are derogatory of women, it's not right. And it just pervades society. Violence against women remains the leading preventable cause of death, disability and illness for women aged between 15 and 44, and that simply is unacceptable. It is 2026, but it wouldn't matter what year it was. In the past 12 months alone, 35 women have been killed and 55 children have lost their mums.

I went to the funeral for Molly Ticehurst, who was tragically and brutally murdered in Forbes in April 2024. Joining me on that occasion was the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, who I've got a lot of respect for; I really do. His father had died just before, and yet he went to Forbes to attend Molly's funeral. The police minister, Yasmin Catley, went with him, and I also have the utmost respect for her. The New South Wales police are under instruction that, if it is a call about domestic violence, they are to get there in double-quick time to attempt to address the issue, and they do. They've come in for a bit of unfair and undue criticism lately, but they do a fine job to protect and save lives, and to protect and save women, particularly in domestic violence situations.

Domestic and family violence is the main cause of homelessness for women and children, particularly in some of those rural and remote areas and particularly in Aboriginal communities. Where do the women go to? Sometimes there is just no shelter for those for those ladies and their kids. Anything the government could do would, I'm sure, be agreed to in a bipartisan way. This absolutely must be above politics. It is a national crisis. The figures are confronting and they are unacceptable. One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15—one in three. That's an extraordinary figure. One in six have suffered sexual or physical abuse from a partner—as the member for Sturt said, from somebody who was supposed to love them, from somebody who lives with them and, in many cases, has done so for many, many years. One in two has been sexually harassed. It's simply not good enough.

Look at the state statistics. In Western Australia, there were 40,000 offences with a restraining order breached every 44 minutes. The picture gets just as dire elsewhere. In New South Wales, police are called to a domestic violence incident not every four hours but every four minutes. In Queensland, more than 200,000 call-outs occurred last year. That figure was a marked increase on the previous 12 months. Police officers report that as much as 90 per cent of their workload is now family violence related—all but 10 per cent. That's incredible. It's getting worse, not better. In South Australia, offences are up 13 per cent, murder rates increased 69 per cent year on year. In the Northern Territory, assaults have risen 20 per cent since June 2024, and eight women have been killed. Tasmania has seen a 45 per cent jump in reports. Here in the ACT, where probably people have got a higher income per capita than anywhere else in the country, family violence assaults have increased by 12 per cent. I know we've got a cost-of-living crisis, but these figures are unacceptable. It is a national tragedy, a national scourge.

I was talking to a woman who I know well, a friend of mine in Victoria, and she woke up one morning with a fellow at the end of her bed. I say a fellow, but that's too nice a term. A thug, a mongrel—call him what you will. He was out on bail, and he'd been out dozens and dozens and dozens of times. He'd got bail, he'd got out and he'd offended again. He crawled through the doggy door that the family had for their dog, their pooch. This woman—a single mum with three young kids, all school aged—managed to get out of that very touchy, delicate and dangerous situation, but what would have happened if she hadn't? She would have become the next victim.

Our courts absolutely have to be tougher. I see the nods from those opposite. There is a real responsibility on the judiciary to get this right because our women deserve better than this. They do. I applaud the government for any funding initiative that's going to help women by providing more shelters or more care, whether it's in Wagga Wagga—it doesn't matter where it is—or whether it's through state governments or federal; that matters not. It needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. There should be no more silence against domestic violence. There is help available for those women who find themselves in those situations. Domestic violence simply must stop, and we, as a nation, must do better.

Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Riverina. This is an area where there aren't enough masculine voices. This is a male issue, and men need to be heard. Men need to step up and take responsibility and accountability. I'm very proud to rise today on the statement made by the Minister for Social Services as she tabled the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission yearly report to parliament. Without this data, without these opportunities to speak, silence becomes deafening, and in some cases silence is lethal. It is hard for someone to admit that they are the victim of domestic and family violence. With it can come shame and embarrassment. It breaks people down psychologically. They don't know where to turn to for help. They don't know what services might be available. They might know the statistic that the first 24 hours after a woman chooses to leave are the most dangerous in her life. Friends of mine have not made it through that 24 hours. It is a scourge. It is a national embarrassment, and it is something that every single Australian has a responsibility to address, not just women.

When I go to marches and when I go to meetings, I'm outnumbered 10 to one, which is why I was so pleased to see the member for Riverina stand. It's why I'm pleased to see the member for Hunter further on the list, as well as the member for Menzies. It will be through the voices of men that we will impact the changing behaviour of men. We all—all men—have to take responsibility. The 'not all men' catchcry that rallied around for a while there—nuh-uh, all of us. There is no excuse. One in 11 men have copped to coercive control of a partner. If you have a cricket team, one of your teammates is that man. That is a frightening statistic. Those men inflict family and domestic violence on roughly 2.3 million women, a quarter of our population. There is, of course, female-to-male domestic violence as well. Some 693,000 men are a victim of this. There is no excuse. It does not matter. You're meant to love. Love is not violence. Love is not coercion. Love is not control.

In the far north, we have some horrific statistics. We are overrepresented. People look. They point to different things. Is it socioeconomic? Maybe that's part of the case, but then we know that domestic violence spikes during the NRL grand final, State of Origin and Christmas, so something else is going on there as well. We have to listen to the women, but it's time we start working with the men.

I attended a domestic violence seminar featuring Indigenous women from right across the cape who ran shelters and had been survivors themselves. They told some harrowing stories. One was of a woman who was so afraid she left her home in community and went and hid in the creek in the reeds with her children. That might seem like a reasonable thing to do in some parts of the country, but I know what lives in my creeks. She chose a crocodile over the man she was living with—a cold-blooded killer versus the man whose job it was to love and protect. That is the essence of what we're dealing with. Despite this, she sat, told her story and said: 'Help our men. Help our men be better. Our men are broken.' Men need to deserve that. You have to work to earn that kind of love. They want you to be better, so find a way. It's not just about shelters now. It's about finding ways to make sure that these men who are perpetrating can get the help that they need to stop it, finish it, be the men that the women in our lives want us to be. That's how domestic violence ends—when we as men become worthy of the women who love us.

This is not a political issue. It's a human issue. It has been great to have cross-party support for the initiatives to make sure that the $3.9 billion for the National Access to Justice Partnership—including $800 million for family violence, the largest amount invested in Australia's history—will be delivered, and that we can deal with high-risk perpetrators by investing over $82 million to detect, monitor and intervene earlier. We must stop it before these pathways get to a place where we can't return from. I've seen where those pathways end. I've spoken to the children. I've had to donate to GoFundMes. It is not something we should ever do.

Our community has a part to play in this. It can't just be speeches in this House. It can't just be the people who make running these shelters their vocation and their lives that find the funding, do the builds, offer the support, be that shoulder and give that confidence; it has to be every single one of us. If you see someone covering up harm, make sure they're okay. Have those gentle conversations to help break down those barriers and those stigmas. If you've got a mate who's displaying telltale abusive behaviours, help them change. Call them out. A dangerous thing to do is put them in a corner, because, when isolated and alone, they will lash out. Bring them back to the society that they should be a part of. Help them be better so that we can help our society be better, so that we can protect women and children.

I pay particular credit to those working on the front line, supporting those impacted by domestic and family violence—often survivors themselves who have dedicated their lives to the protection of others—whether it's working in emergency housing or refuges, counselling or supporting victims and helping them rebuild their lives. I say to them: your work is invaluable, your work is life-saving and you are all heroes who deserve more recognition. To take care of someone at their lowest point is a true honour, and you guys often do it in very-low-paying jobs away from the public eye. You make Australia better.

I say again that the vast majority of men are decent, but statistics tell us that those other men walk among us. It is up to us to identify them. It is up to us to help them change their behaviours. Nobody wants to be a perpetrator. Nobody wants to be a victim. But the perpetrators are the cause, and the way that we stop this is by stopping them; that may be through criminal intervention, but I'd much prefer we take care of it before it gets to that. I'm going to sound like a broken record: talk to your mates, understand the behaviours you're looking for, get them off these paths before they walk too far, make sure they are able to have those conversations and bring them back to where they need to be, and we will save lives. Ultimately, that is what we should be doing and that is what we should hope for.

Domestic violence will continue to have a devastating impact on communities right through my electorate and right through Australia until we all as a nation stand up and say, 'Enough.' When I go to rallies and it is a fifty-fifty split of men and women, and when men start taking this seriously as a men's issue being perpetrated on women, that is when change will come. I hope to be part of that change. I hope that, through my actions and through my work, I'm able to divert some of these men. I hope that young kids, through my work with them, can role-model a way of life. And I hope that next year, when we're having these conversations, there is a very different outcome for a lot of Australia's women.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to parliament is a sobering reminder that, while Australia has plans and strategies, we are still failing to deliver the safety and protection that women and children deserve. Domestic and family violence remains a national emergency, and we are still not seeing a mobilisation of resources and decision-making by government as it does for other issues. One woman is murdered every week in Australia, and, sadly, children are too, though not quite at the same rate. Some 2.3 million Australian women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. Nearly 60 per cent of women who are now single mothers have experienced partner violence. So, yes, Australian women are angry. I'm one of them.

The commission is clear. We must move beyond fragmented responses and embrace coordinated, accountable delivery. The report sets out priority actions for the seven years remaining in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children—only seven years for that plan; remember that. We need prevention beginning in childhood and stronger implementation mechanisms, and we must strengthen the commission itself so we can gather the information needed to monitor progress and outcomes. If not, it is only words; that plan will not deliver its stated outcome. It's what I've been saying in this parliament since my maiden speech in 2019. Domestic violence is a major health and safety crisis, and we must treat it with the urgency that it demands.

In Warringah, the electorate has five women's shelters. They are staffed by extraordinary people who show up every day to protect women and children. Last year, I convened a domestic and family violence roundtable with frontline organisations, and we heard from the Northern Beaches Women's Shelter, Mary's House, Women & Children First, the Women's Resilience Centre, Dalwood Spilstead, LocalKind and St Vincent de Paul. Despite different service models, they all described the same problem—women and children are waiting too long for help and in the most dangerous moment, which is when they're trying to leave. They are often having to be waitlisted. Police in our area tell me domestic and family violence is their most frequent call-out. In Warringah alone, more than 450 domestic and family violence assaults were reported last year. The Northern Beaches Women's Shelter has faced demand from more than 70 women per day, most of whom have had to be turned away because they don't have the capacity.

So this yearly report reinforces all of those statistics on a national front. Our systems remain fragmented, too often underresourced, and the result is predictable harm. In Australia, one in four women has experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15. Almost half of all women hospitalised for assault were injured by someone they knew or trusted. That is the most astounding statistic. And 39 per cent of people accessing homelessness services are there because of domestic and family violence. At the end of 2025, we saw an increase in the number of sexual assaults reported to police and a 14 per cent increase of women experiencing economic abuse. We're now also seeing evolving threats—technology facilitated abuse, nudify apps, stalking tools, deepfakes and the rise of the online 'manosphere', radicalising boys and young men with misogyny. While investments have increased, we cannot confuse expenditure with effectiveness. As I've said before in this place, it's not good enough to say, 'But we've spent record amounts,' or, 'We've spent more than the other side,' if the dial is not shifting in terms of outcomes.

The commission highlights critical insights that must guide our next steps. Firstly, prevention must begin in childhood. We need respectful-relationships education early and emotional literacy. Education at universities matters too. Programs like Consent Labs play a really important role in creating change. Secondly, we must embed lived experience and centre the voices of those who have been most impacted in that decision-making. That includes having things like a youth advisory council. It means co-designing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, people with disability, multicultural communities and LGBTQIA+ people. Thirdly, the commission highlights how disconnected our social services and institutions are. Family law, child protection, police, health and housing are all systems that intersect in the lives of victims-survivors, yet too often they operate in isolation, in their own silos. The commission calls for coordinated implementation and delivery mechanisms across government, across all those services.

The insights align with reforms that I've been consistently advocating for in this parliament and previously, including increasing and sustaining the funding for frontline services, so the capacity of these services aligns with the community need. We are still so far from the actual need. They include a national domestic violence offender register to support a disclosure scheme similar to Clare's Law; stronger, nationally consistent approaches to sentencing; AVO enforcement; and appropriate electronic monitoring for high-risk offenders. We take a preventive approach when it comes to terrorism. Why are we not taking a preventive approach when it comes to this domestic terrorism of women? It has to be shifted; the dial has to shift in this way.

The reforms also include a major uplift in safe, affordable housing options for women and children fleeing violence. Of course, at the moment, too often they have to choose between safety and poverty, so unfortunately stay in unsafe environments. They include fixing systems that enable economic abuse and coercive control, including the broken child support system and the weaponisation of administrative processes. The government is complicit currently under the child support system with coercive economic control of single parents. They include a focus on prevention, including early intervention programs for men and boys and support for services like the Man Cave and Mentoring Men. Despite many submissions, they're being forced to downscale their operations because they have funding shortfalls, and I don't hold much hope that they are going to be funded in the upcoming budget. I really hope I am wrong. We must address these key drivers.

I've repeatedly backed calls for a ban on gambling advertising and far stronger regulation of alcohol. The evidence is so clear that alcohol and gambling ads fuel violence. We know that incidents of domestic violence spike by 40 per cent during major sporting events. If the government are serious about prevention—and members of government have made great speeches here—then they have to act on the obvious drivers. We cannot continue to have gambling advertising peppered through our system that is leading to this crisis getting worse and impacting young men. We know alcohol is such a massive driver, but it's clear this government is still, I would argue, captured by big business and vested interests because, despite clear guidelines, we are not prioritising the recommendations of the Murphy report and banning gambling advertising, for example.

The commission makes many recommendations, but it lacks the power needed to really hold the government and states and territories to account. Without the power to compel information from consistent public reporting, it's hard to genuinely hold government to account. I've been calling for a royal commission into domestic violence and femicide because we see, for so many other issues, that it elevates the issue to an area of significance. It sends a clear signal that this is a priority for the government. Instead, what we're seeing is a mixed response. I'm told a far-reaching inquiry can compel evidence across agencies and jurisdictions and expose where systems are failing, where funding is not reaching the front line and how perpetrators exploit loopholes in our system. I believe strongly that a royal commission would elevate this crisis to a national priority alongside other issues examined by royal commissions.

The commission itself can also be strengthened as a statutory authority with expanded powers to gather timely information, data and evidence. We also have to fix the issue of data on this issue. It's insane that we still don't have clear data across our country. The commission points to the need for better monitoring, review mechanisms and transparent public reporting. Right now, we don't even have longitudinal data to understand the complexity of intimate partner violence over time. Of the 131 measures tracked under the current national plan, only 32 per cent currently have a data source. So how are we even going to know that the other measures are on track? Without robust, widely available data, we can't accurately measure the promised outcomes of the national plan.

We have to confront systems abuse. Child support, tax, family law processes—too often they are used as tools for coercion and control. Women should not have to enter dangerous conflict situations to receive payments or entitlements to take care of children. So, whilst there is some progress, there is so much more to be done on this issue.

Ali France (Dickson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to make a statement on the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to parliament. Gender based violence impacts one in three Australian women in their lifetime. One in six have survived sexual and physical violence. Women with a disability over the age of 15 are three times more likely than women without a disability or men with a disability to have experienced intimate partner violence. These are not just numbers; they represent lives shattered. The impacts of domestic violence ripple through communities, impacting families, children and friends.

I recently met Lauren in Petrie in my electorate. Lauren bravely told me about her experience of domestic and family violence and the devastating impact of her partner harming her beautiful newborn baby at just three months old. She spoke of the heartbreak and the guilt but also of the shame and the judgement she felt as a result of interactions with police and hospital staff, how she became homeless as a result of the abuse, the court battles she fought and the decade-long impact on her life and the lives of all those around her.

We all know in this place that her story is not unique. Since being elected to this place, I have sat with many women in my community who are struggling with the impacts of domestic violence. Even if they manage to leave their abusive partners, they still experience abuse, coercive control and financial manipulation by government and court systems. Lauren said something that has stayed with me: 'The shame I felt was indescribable.' No woman should ever have to feel that way for seeking help.

In her report, the commissioner expresses a clear sense of urgency, and this government shares that urgency. We have been relentless in our efforts to address gender based violence. Since coming to government, Labor has invested more than any Australian government ever—more than $4 billion in frontline services and preventive programs, as well as providing $3.9 billion in support for frontline legal assistance services. We've made the $5,000 leaving violence payment permanent, providing support for women leaving violence. Over 100,000 people have accessed this payment. We're investing $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional housing, and we've legislated 10 days of domestic violence leave.

We are supporting essential frontline services with $700 million in new match funding with the states and territories to support women and children at risk to reach safety. We're investing over $81 million to support children who are trying to heal, expanding services like child-specific counselling. We're investing over $21 million to expand trauma informed legal services and pilot new services to help victims of sexual violence navigate the justice system. We're investing over $82 million to detect, monitor and intervene earlier with high-risk and serial domestic violence offenders. We have reformed the family law system so that it is safer, simpler and more accessible.

Financial abuse is often hidden and unseen. Often it is a big reason why women feel it is impossible to leave an abusive relationship. Now, it's harder for perpetrators to use the social security system to leave survivors with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. That reduces the barriers to women and children leaving violent relationships.

We recently released 'Our Ways—Strong Ways—Our Voices', the first ever national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander plan to end family, domestic and sexual violence. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are seven times more likely to be the victims of intimate partner homicide and 27 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be hospitalised due to family violence.

On the international day for the prevention of family, domestic and sexual violence, the Albanese Labor government announced a 40 per cent funding increase to the 1800RESPECT line, a 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line for any and all Australians. Last financial year, 1800RESPECT received a whopping 342,000 calls, video calls, online chats and texts.

Today Minister Plibersek and Assistant Minister Kearney announced a 72 per cent funding boost for our frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workforce. The Albanese Labor government will invest $291.7 million for the next phase of the 500 Workers Initiative, supporting the workforce and recognising the specialist skills and expertise they have to support women and children fleeing violence.

Frontline workers are often the first, most trusted point of contact for victims-survivors. By investing in them, we're investing in the safety of every woman and child they reach. We are working to adapt to new challenges, We're addressing the impact of online harms through our social media ban and by restricting access to predatory technologies like nudify apps and undetectable stalking tools.

While we have put decades of work into fighting domestic and family violence, it never seems to be enough, which is just gutting for gen Xers like me. Some of us feel that our hard-fought changes in this space are being eroded and that antifemale, gender biased, misogynistic talk is on the rise. The key messages and lines of the manosphere online are seeping into the relationships of our young people—undermining women's rights, reducing social barriers to abuse and promoting rigid traditional ideas of masculinity. Women are still dying—58 women in 2025. Women are still fighting to keep their children and themselves alive. This year, so far, eight women have died at the hands of a partner or former partner. Eight women have been failed by the systems that were supposed to protect them and their families. It's just not good enough; it's devastating.

We will keep adapting to emerging challenges. We will work even harder to help women and children to reach safety and heal. We will better support children to recover and thrive. We will prioritise the most effective ways to change the behaviour of men who use violence. And, as we continue steadfast in our commitment, we will listen to the voices of survivors, seek guidance from experts and be informed by evidence, because everyone deserves to live without fear of violence.

I want to thank the commissioner and the team for their hard work towards addressing and ending violence against women and children in all its forms, and I really want to acknowledge our amazing Labor women's caucus, led by Ministers Gallagher and Plibersek and Assistant Ministers Kearney and White. Thank you for all of your work in this space.

Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I share with the House the vital work contained in the yearly report of the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission. Too many Australians have felt the deep and lasting impact of gender based violence: mothers, sisters, daughters, sons, colleagues, neighbours and friends. Violence does not discriminate. It cuts across suburbs, incomes, cultures and generations. Tragically, in Dunkley we know this reality all too well. My electorate carries some of the highest rates of domestic, family and sexual violence in the country, and that is why I set up the Women's Spirit Project to support women to heal and recover from such trauma.

I want to begin by acknowledging the victims and survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence. I want to acknowledge their pain, their grief, their strength and their determination to rebuild their lives in the face of unimaginable trauma. For many, walking through the doors of a refuge, a police station or a courtroom, or reaching out to a friend, is an act of enormous courage. I honour every single person who has done that and every person who is still trying to find the strength to do it today.

In 2022 the Albanese Labor government launched the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, a coordinated whole-of-nation effort bringing together the Commonwealth, every state and territory, frontline services experts and, most importantly, victims-survivors. The plan was launched because too many lives were being lost, too many children were growing up in fear and too many women were being failed by systems meant to protect them.

In 2024, one woman was killed every eight days due to domestic and family violence. In 2025, 74 women were killed by a partner or former partner. These are not statistics; they are women whose lives were cut short and who should still be here. The reality remains stark. One in four women has experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15. One in five women has been the victim of sexual violence. These figures represent real people—people with families, dreams, careers and lives that have been irrevocably changed forever. They demand not only our attention but our action.

Last year, the commission's report was presented by Minister Plibersek with the strong support of the Attorney-General, Minister Rowland, and Assistant Minister Kearney. A critical outcome of this report is the announcement of the inquiry into domestic, family and sexual violence related suicide. I spoke in the chamber in November last year to express my support for this inquiry. My support is grounded not just in my work over decades in the sector but in my own lived experience of domestic and family violence. I have known the fear, the confusion and the deep shame that can suffocate a person until they believe they have no way out. If we fail to understand the link between gender based violence and suicide, then we fail those who most need our help.

The Albanese Labor government recognises this and is acting decisively. We have been persistent and consistent, taking the most significant suite of actions any government in our nation's history has taken to address gender based violence. We introduced leaving violence payments to support people escaping unsafe situations, recognising that financial control is often one of the strongest tools used by abusers to trap victims. We have committed $4 billion to tackling violence against women. That investment reflects our strong belief that safety is not optional; it is fundamental. We are also responding to the rise in digital abuse. Under the leadership of the Attorney-General and the Minister for Communications, Australia is now taking global leadership in reducing online harms, restricting dangerous technologies such as nudify apps and covert tracking devices, strengthening protections for young people online and backing measures that hold platforms to account for enabling abuse.

In 2024, the Prime Minister convened an urgent National Cabinet focused solely on gender based violence. That sent a clear message. This is not a women's issue. This is not a private issue. This is a national crisis, and every level of government must respond with urgency. As part of this investment, we have delivered $700 million in matching funding with the states and territories to improve frontline services, so when a woman makes the decision to flee, she is met not with a waiting list but with a safe place to go. We are investing $21 million to expand trauma informed specialist legal services and pilot new victim navigator roles to help those experiencing sexual violence find their way through complex legal systems. Through the National Access to Justice Partnership, the government has committed $3.9 billion, including $800 million specifically for family violence legal services. We are also strengthening the response to high-risk offenders, with $82 million to better detect, monitor and intervene in the behaviours of serial domestic violence perpetrators, because we know a small cohort of men commit the most serious and repeated harm. Because children are too often invisible victims of domestic violence, we are investing $81 million to expand child focused counselling and recovery programs. Every child deserves a childhood. Every child deserves to feel safe.

We must also confront the painful truth that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women face higher rates of violence. They are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence and up to seven times more likely to be killed. This is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking and it is preventable. That is why we are finalising 'Our Ways—Strong Ways—Our Voices', the first standalone national plan designed by and for First Nations people to end domestic, family and sexual violence. Its strength lies in its cultural authority and in its grounding in community led solutions. Today was yet another milestone by this government, delivering a 72 per cent boost for our frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workforce and an additional $291 million for the next phase of the 500 Workers Initiative. This funding will ensure the sustainability and security of critical workforce and recognises the specialist skills and expertise needed for women and children fleeing violence. As the Minister for Social Services affirmed today, these workers are a vital part of our response to domestic and sexual violence. They are at the front line, saving lives every day.

We also know that, for many victims, the risk of suicide is heightened by fear, isolation, financial stress and trauma—by feeling trapped in situations where every option seems unsafe. This national inquiry helps us better understand these risks and build pathways that save lives. No-one should feel unsafe—not at home, not at work, not at school, not on campus, not anywhere. Ending gender based violence will require men and boys to play a central role. As Minister Plibersek has said, it is going to take the leadership of men to help turn these numbers around. The commission has seven years remaining in its mandate to support the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children. Its annual report and the new suicide inquiry represent ongoing and essential steps in our national commitment to confronting and ending gender based violence.

Every person deserves to live free from fear. Every child deserves a safe home. Every survivor deserves justice, support and hope. That is the Australia we are working to build, and we will not stop until we achieve it.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to make a statement on the significant matters arising from the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission's yearly report to the parliament. I want to acknowledge the commissioner and her team for work that is evidence based and grounded in the experience of victims-survivors. I recognise that this is a really challenging topic and that this continues to be a national crisis. The thing that I think is fascinating about this topic is that it is rare to have a conversation with a woman that has not been directly affected or had a close friend or family member that's been affected. This is something that is really grounded in the first experience of many people here.

I'm really proud to be a part of a federal government that listens and acts and backs women. We are standing up for vulnerable women, and we will continue to do that because our goal is to end all forms of domestic, family and sexual violence. A significant matter raised in this report is the scale of the challenge and the need for sustained and coordinated action. Since the national plan was launched in 2022, the Australian government has invested over $4 billion in women's safety initiatives. Safety must be practical, not theoretical.

I'd also say that financial insecurity is a major barrier to leaving violence, and that is why making the Leaving Violence Program permanent matters. I remember speaking to a woman who was in the process of leaving their partner. As a schoolteacher in some states, if you don't work on the last day of the school term, you don't get paid for your two weeks of school holidays. So this person was going through this traumatic break-up and did not know that this domestic violence leave was available. She made it to the last day of the school term and then had a conversation with her principal before she almost broke down. That was a barrier, and the thing that we have to continue to do as a government is look at the barriers that exist for women to ensure that they can leave relationships. For all the barriers that we lower, we have to continue to do that.

The program enables eligible victims-survivors with up to $5,000 in assistance, alongside safety planning and referral pathways. We must back frontline services. The renewed National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence responses will deliver over $700 million in new, matched investment across the Commonwealth, states and territories to support frontline services. This includes specialist services for women and children and men's behaviour change programs. This matters because a plan on paper is not enough if a person can't get timely help when they reach out.

Harrowingly, as we explored the role of financial abuse as a form of gender based violence, the link between domestic, family and sexual violence and suicide came into view, and we heard devastating stories like Molly Wilkes. Molly experienced severe emotional and sexual abuse. She had tried to leave her perpetrator six times since they married, and the last three times were in the last five months of her life. Tragically, Molly committed suicide. What is particularly shocking about this form of domestic violence is that even death does not stop perpetrators from continuing to abuse you. The perpetrator was successful in getting Molly's superannuation, which was pretty shocking. That's something that Julie Adams, her mother, fought about, and this is something that this government is continuing to work on.

I also welcome the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into the relationship between domestic, family and sexual violence and suicide. Domestic violence related suicide numbers are not understood very well within our communities. There have been some reports and studies done in the past, including in WA, and, for every woman that is murdered at the hands of a perpetrator, there are many more that commit suicide because of the emotional and physical abuse that they have experienced. I think that this is a really important area, and I hope that this inquiry sheds some light into this issue. Fundamentally, we need better data, better systems and better prevention, because one death is too many.

Financial abuse, as an aspect of this, is something that I have seen and investigated through the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. Financial abuse is insidious and often hidden and has devastating long-term impacts. The ABS reports that 16 per cent of women and almost eight per cent of men have experienced partner economic abuse since the age of 15. Victims-survivors and experts have also told us that economic abuse can occur within and through government systems.

That is why it's significant that the government commenced consultation on options to combat financial abuse perpetrated through coerced directorships, where perpetrators can use corporate and tax settings to saddle victims-survivors with liabilities. The consultation canvasses options to strengthen consent and removal processes for directors, expand relevant defences, improve responses for director penalty notices and set up safe mechanisms to hold perpetrators to account. We acknowledge the progress, but we also acknowledge that it's not enough, and this is why continued reform is important through the second action plan. Victims-survivors' voices are important, and we need to continue to work on evidence based policy. We also need to make sure that we continue to look at things like stopping serial perpetrators, supporting children's recovery and adapting to emerging threats.

This report will sharpen our resolve, and the thing that I think is particularly fascinating about this issue is protective behaviours. As a mother that has a son and a daughter, protective behaviours is one of the things that I teach my children. I recognise that one of my children is statistically more likely to be a victim compared to my other child, and that's based on gender. I recognise that there are things we can do in our family household unit, but to achieve the change we need to see I recognise that we need local, state and federal governments and communities working together—to make sure that we stop and end family domestic violence.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the vital work that is occurring across our country to prevent and respond to the national crisis that is domestic, family and sexual violence. Late last year, Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin tabled her annual report in this parliament. This report is an important reminder that we must maintain our commitment to making sure every woman and child in our community is safe and our commitment to breaking the cycle of violence that shatters families, lives and communities.

We know that still too many women and children are being killed or experiencing lifelong physical and psychological harm from people who should be loving and protecting them. Too many men are making the choice to use violence. Every eight days, a woman is killed by a man's use of violence, almost always a man she knows. This commissioner's 2025 annual report provided a timely update of the progress we've made through the leadership and collective efforts of governments, frontline services and communities, but it's also a reminder of how far we have to go.

The Albanese Labor government's leadership on this issue has driven collective action across our country that is essential for success. Our government has matched our commitment to ending this epidemic within a generation by investing more than $4 billion since 2022, the most of any government in history. We have committed $1.2 billion for crisis and transitional housing. Too often, women cannot leave a family violence situation because they feel they must make a choice between an unsafe home for themselves and their children, and no home at all. This funding ensures this happens less of the time.

We have made the leaving family violence payment permanent so that more people have access to financial support to escape violence. We have delivered 10 days of paid domestic violence leave. We are protecting more women from attempts to use government support to inflict financial abuse, and we have ensured that community legal centres are given the resources they need to support women and children.

I have volunteered at community legal centres in the past, giving me an understanding of how vital they are in helping women obtain and enforce intervention orders, manage criminal proceedings and navigate the complex web of legal issues that arise when leaving a family violence situation. In my electorate, Eastern Community Legal Services provide this vital support day in, day out, helping people in Menzies and across Melbourne's east to deal with one of the most difficult times in their lives.

We are investing in evidence based interventions that change the way we think about how we respond to those using violence and how we help victims-survivors to heal. Unfortunately, as the commissioner's report notes, we must do much more to end violence against women and children. Within my electorate of Menzies, I see almost daily the significant impact that those choices have across our community. We have services from Doncaster to Blackburn, Box Hill and Warrandyte that dedicate themselves day in, day out to supporting people affected by family and sexual violence, frontline services like the dedicated team at Box Hill Orange Door and other specialist family violence services.

Doncare in Doncaster, which are near my electorate office, provide a unique locally based model that delivers low-cost counselling, and their innovative dawn mentoring and volunteering program provides long-term support for women recovering from family violence through mentoring. This is a unique program that focuses on recovery, and I'm grateful to Assistant Minister for Social Services Ged Kearney for visiting Doncare with me to hear about the fantastic work that they do.

The reality is this problem is so endemic and widespread that it touches every community service in Menzies because of the numerous ways in which it affects people's daily lives. Health and disability services like Access Health and Community, healthAbility, the Family Action Network, Doncare, local neighbourhood houses and Box Hill Rotary are all working to keep families safe. I am proud to be part of a community that takes seriously our collective responsibility to call out and address this violence and support women and children to be safe. There is no place, suburb, community or city where gender based violence doesn't exist. Given this, it is on all of us to do our bit to demand better and bring about change.

Today this government made an additional announcement to strengthen the frontline workforce to help combat this scourge. The Albanese Labor government has announced a 72 per cent funding boost to our frontline family, domestic and sexual violence workforce. Without this critical and specialised workforce, there is no way for us to effectively combat family violence and keep people safe. They are the people who are the most trusted and qualified to assist victims-survivors to navigate complicated and dangerous situations, which is why we will continue to support them through our commitment to deliver 500 additional frontline workers across Australia.

Continuing our government's leadership, Minister Plibersek last year announced an inquiry into domestic, family and sexual violence related suicide, to be conducted by the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, of which I am privileged to be a member. This inquiry will be critical to progressing our understanding of the ways in which gender based violence impacts on victims-survivors and those around them. Briefings for the committee are underway, and public hearings have been scheduled. I look forward to doing my part in understanding this important work.

The lived experience of victims-survivors must be the foundation of any reform. Too often, victims-survivors have had laws and policy made about them without their input or perspective. This leads to less effective policy and programs that don't work for the people they are meant to serve. It leads to disempowerment and disenfranchisement. Regularly in Menzies my staff and I speak with victims-survivors who know firsthand how fragmented and difficult to navigate services can be. They know there is no quick fix and that policy solutions have unintended consequences that can be a matter of life and death. As a government, we believe we need to empower those affected by family violence to not just survive but thrive. This doesn't happen without centring their experience and understanding.

That's why I'm so pleased that the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner has highlighted this as a key priority as we move forward in delivering the national plan. The commissioner's Lived Experience Advisory Council will lead the development of an engagement framework and toolkit that will help inform best-practice approaches across the country. In addition, we are establishing a DFSVC youth advisory council to embed young voices in planning and to help make sure that voices are heard.

Ending family violence in a generation will require the whole of society to be working together, and we must acknowledge that gender based violence is not just a women's issue; it is a men's issue. The vast majority of family and sexual violence is committed by men. It is vital that men speak up to condemn this violence, call out bad behaviour and encourage others to be better. Men need to call out disrespect and misogyny with their mates, with their colleagues at the pub and on the footy field. Men need to show their children, their peers and their community what respectful relationships look like. This is not about demonising all men; it's about making sure we recognise the problem and support people to make better choices.

I'd like to acknowledge the amazing work of Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon from Monash University and Matt Tyler, executive director of the Men's Project, at Jesuit Social Services. In November last year, I met with Kate and Matt and heard about their work on The Man Box and The Adolescent Man Box, which examine how adolescents perceive and enforce damaging and traditional stereotypes around masculinity. These man-box rules say that vulnerability is a negative thing and that to appear manly by putting others down and maintaining stereotypical gender roles is the only way to be a man. The Man Box survey also reminds us of the reality that many perpetrators of abuse are also victims of abuse themselves. This groundbreaking research helps give us a road map to effective interventions to help break these cycles of intergenerational abuse and trauma.

This is about creating a better future for both women and men. I will continue to take every opportunity I can to use my voice to call out gendered violence. I am proud to be part of this Labor government, which has invested more in tackling this violence than any other government in history. I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to ending family and domestic violence in a generation, and I am proud to support the work of the frontline services in my electorate of Menzies that are working to protect vulnerable people every single day.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a matter that is confronting, urgent and unavoidable. I speak as a man, as a father, as a representative of my community in the Hunter and as Special Envoy for Men's Health. Today I acknowledge the women, the men and the children who lost their lives to domestic, family and sexual violence. I acknowledge the survivors, who live with the trauma every single day. I acknowledge the families, who carry grief that never fully leaves them. If we are serious about ending domestic, family and sexual violence, men must be part of this conversation—not on the sidelines, not defensively and not pointing fingers somewhere else. Men must stand up, take responsibility and do the work. Real change happens when men are willing to look honestly at themselves and say, 'The violence must stop.'

As the Special Envoy for Men's Health, I've been working with the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner. It's great to have an opportunity to speak on the yearly report. I want to thank Commissioner Micaela Cronin, her team and the Lived Experience Advisory Council for their rigorous work, their honesty and the insistence that we move beyond words into action.

This report makes one thing painfully clear. We do not lack evidence, recommendations or an understanding of what works. What we lack is speed, scale and the courage to change behaviours that have been normalised for way too long. From a men's health perspective, this matters deeply. Violence is not only a justice issue and a safety issue; it is a men's health issue. Because violence is learned, violence is reinforced and violence is repeated. And violence destroys lives on every side of the equation.

The report tells us that nearly one in three men self-report having used some form of violence against an intimate partner in adulthood. That statistic should stop every man in this Chamber in their tracks. It stopped me when I first read it because behind that number are real people, real harm and real consequences that unfortunately last a lifetime. The truth is this: the reality is that the overwhelming majority of domestic, family and sexual violence is committed by men. Until men are willing to confront that reality honestly, we will never break this cycle. But here is the other truth: men are also capable of change. Men can be protective, respectful, caring partners and fathers. Men can model healthy relationships. Men can actually ask for help. Men can learn new ways of dealing with anger, fear, shame and stress. That is where men's health intersects directly with violence prevention.

For generations we have taught boys that strength means silence, that emotions are weakness, that asking for help is a failure and that control equals masculinity. Those messages do real damage. They damage mental health, they damage relationships and, in the worst cases, they escalate into violence. The commissioner's report is clear that prevention must begin in childhood. That means teaching emotional literacy alongside literacy and numeracy. It means helping boys understand their feelings, communicate safely and build respectful relationships from the very start. It means breaking the intergenerational cycle before it hardens into behaviours.

The evidence is powerful. Men who grow up with positive father figures who show affection are almost 50 per cent less likely to use violence as adults. That is not a soft statistic; that is a road map. This is why engaging men and boys is not optional; it is essential.

The report calls for a national coordinated approach to healthy masculinities, and I could not agree more. Healthy masculinity is not about taking something away from men; it is about giving men better tools—tools to manage stress, tools to regulate emotions and tools to be better partners, fathers and mates. When we invest in men's mental health, early intervention and behavioural change programs, we are not excusing violence; we are preventing it.

The report also shines a harsh light on the role of technology in modern abuse. Coercive control no longer stops at the front door; it follows people through phones, apps, smart devices and other online spaces. Young men are being targeted by online misogyny and radicalisation that feeds resentment, entitlement and dominance. If we do not meet that challenge head-on, we will be dealing with the consequences of this for decades. That is why action on online harms matters. That is why restricting predatory technologies matters. That is why teaching digital respect and accountability matters.

Through a men's health lens, I want to speak directly about seeking help. Too many men wait until they're in crisis before they reach out for help. Too many men bottle things up until the pressure turns into explosion. That pattern is dangerous not just for men themselves but for all the people around them. The report acknowledges that many men who use violence have experienced trauma themselves. That does not excuse their behaviour, but it tells us something important: if we intervene early, if we support men before harm occurs, we can stop violence before it starts. That is why programs that work with men who have used violence must be properly resourced, evidence based and held to national standards—not tick-a-box courses, not short-term fixes but real programs that challenge beliefs, build accountability and support long-term change.

At the same time, we must never lose sight of the victims and the survivors. Women, men and children must always feel safe. Holding those who use violence accountable and keeping victims safe are not competing priorities; they are inseparable. The report makes clear that children are not silent witnesses; they are direct victims. Exposure to violence shapes brain development, mental health, education outcomes and future relationships. If we want to stop violence in one generation, as the national plan commits us to doing, then protecting and supporting children must be central to every decision.

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and communities who experience violence at profoundly disproportionate rates. The report rightly calls for shared decision-making, long-term investment in community controlled organisations and listening to voices that have been ignored for far too long. From a men's health perspective, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men through culturally safe and healing programs is crucial. Healing men heals families. Healing families heals communities.

This report is not a comfortable read, nor should it be. It is a call to action. It tells us that instrumental change is not enough. It tells us that coordination, accountability and urgency matter. It tells us that engaging men and boys is not a side issue; it is central.

I speak directly to the men watching or listening to this debate: strength is not control. Strength is accountability. Strength is knowing when to step back. Strength is asking for help before you hurt somebody you love. Strength is breaking patterns that you inherit but refuse to pass on to others. If you are struggling, reach out. If you are angry, talk to somebody. If you are scared of what you might do, go get help now because real strength is choosing not to cause harm. As a parliament, we have a responsibility to act, to implement the commissioner's recommendations, to find what works, to hold systems accountable and to lead a cultural shift that says violence is never acceptable, never inevitable and never someone else's problem.

I also want to be clear that this work cannot only sit with governments or services. It must reach workplaces, sporting clubs, schools, sheds, kitchens across this country—the places where men spend their time, where attitudes are shaped, where behaviour is either challenged or quietly accepted. Every coach, every employer, every mate has a role to play in calling out harmful behaviour and backing healthier ways forward. Cultural change does not happen in policy documents alone; it happens in everyday moments when respect is modelled, violence is rejected and silence is broken.

I support the tabling of this report. I support its urgency and I commit to continuing this work through the lens of men's health because healthier men means safer women, safer men, safer children and stronger communities. We owe it to the next generation to do better than the last, we owe it to survivors to turn evidence into action, and we owe it to ourselves to be brave enough to change. I commend this report to the House.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 18 : 45