25 June 2025
Today’s NSW budget fails to address the root causes of the domestic and family violence crisis in the state.
The budget inflates the disproportionate spend on criminal justice responses, further entrenching crisis responses to domestic and family violence (DFV) rather than investing in services to intervene earlier to prevent escalation of violence. Each year, this budget includes a spend of over $2.4 billion on prisons and corrective services, and over $5.5 billion on police, while DFV services for people using violence only receive about $13 million.
Currently, around 3,400 people are in NSW prisons for DFV-related offences, costing the state approximately $542 million annually to keep people using domestic and family violence locked up at a rate of $437 per person per day.[1]
No to Violence advocates for the NSW Government to urgently change this approach and invest in ensuring victim-survivors and people using violence receive support earlier. Without such investment, the state remains stuck in crisis mode, perpetuating a revolving door of individuals experiencing and using violence.
“We can’t police our way out of DFV due to the lack of evidence that incarceration is an effective way to change behaviour in the long term and the inequitable impact of criminalisation on marginalised communities,” claims No to Violence CEO Phillip Ripper.
Of the $272.7 million in this budget marked for domestic, family, and sexual violence, No to Violence understands the vast majority is a combination of state and federal funding over four years which will continue existing DFV services. There appears to be minimal investment to increase service capacity in response to rising demand, for both for victim-survivor support and programs that work with men who use violence. We’re still waiting for the NSW Government to clarify what exactly this funding package will deliver.
The lack of transparency around this funding announcement raises concerns the NSW Government’s contribution of “matched” funding under the new National Partnership Agreement (NPA) will consist of existing commitments. Meaning the total funding delivered through the new NPA will represent a significant cut from the previous agreement.
NTV’s calls for investment in developing a broader suite of interventions for people using violence and increasing core funding for Men’s Behavioural Change programs to support best practice standards have not been fulfilled. This is yet another missed opportunity for the NSW Government to keep victim-survivors safe by ensuring people using violence can access appropriate services to support behaviour change.
While No to Violence welcomes funding in this budget for system reform work, including the implementation of a DFV Workforce Strategy, development of a new Common Approach to Risk Assessment, and rolling out an Aboriginal Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence plan, the budget does not include funding for the early implementation of the forthcoming NSW strategy for people using violence.
Without this investment, the NSW Government risks missing clearly identified opportunities, developed through deep consultation with the sector, to immediately improve responses to people using violence and enhance the safety of victim-survivors.
For interviews please contact Brigid Tipping at brigidt@ntv.org.au or 0427 436 607
[1] NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, https://bocsar.nsw.gov.au/statistics-dashboards/custody.html) ; Institute of Public Affairs, https://ipa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IPA-Research-Note-June-2024-Cost-of-Prisons-2024.pdf
