20 February 2026
No to Violence, the national peak body for organisations and individuals committed to ending men’s use of family violence, says today’s joint Victorian-Commonwealth family violence funding announcement fails to deliver on scale and transparency.
No to Violence CEO, Phillip Ripper praised the Victorian government for releasing continued funding for at least two important family violence services but was quick to condemn the Commonwealth for cutting its funding under the National Partnership Agreement on Family Violence.
“Under the new agreement, Commonwealth contributions have reduced from an average of $79.5 million per year under the previous arrangement to $70 million per year now” Mr Ripper said.
“Ending men’s use of family violence requires national coordinated action involving all arms of government and community. At a time when states like Victoria and NSW are stepping up efforts to address family violence, we are seeing the Commonwealth retreat,” Mr Ripper said.
“While today’s $30 million annual funding announcement will support the continuation of some terrific services, we need so much more to address the scale of the family violence crisis in Australia,” Mr Ripper said.
Rising demand has placed frontline services under intense pressure, leaving many Australians unable to access support when they need it most. The funding will enable the continued provision of assistance for children and young people, First Nations communities and people escaping violence, who have too often been left out of reform.
“Transformative, sustained and transparent investment that matches the scale of harm is critical, particularly in reference to these at-risk and often overlooked groups,” Phillip Ripper, CEO for No to Violence, said today.
“While the Commonwealth speaks loudly about the money they have spent responding to family violence, they are failing to invest in actually stopping family violence. To end men’s family violence, we need to intervene early, provide effective men’s behaviour change programs, and break intergenerational cycles of violence”.
“Not only has the Commonwealth failed to invest in the national partnership agreement, it has also failed to deliver on promised funding transparency.”
Crime Statistics Agency data shows serious family-violence-related physical abuse reports are at the highest level since 2016, with incidents rising 3.2 per cent in the past year. Demand continues to outpace system capacity, placing increasing strain on services and underscoring the need for a whole-of-government response focused on prevention, early intervention and behaviour change.
“Frontline services are under real pressure,” Mr Ripper said. “Strengthening the system so victim-survivors can access support when they need it is essential.”
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About No to Violence
No to Violence is the Australian peak body for organisations and individuals committed to ending men’s use of family violence. We support specialist men’s family violence services and operate the national Men’s Referral Service, a 24/7 telephone and online counselling and referral service to link men to the support they need to get on a pathway of change and end their use of family violence. We undertake research, training and advocacy and work with governments, employers and business to stop family violence at the source.
Please list the Men’s Referral Service with all Domestic, Sexual and Family Violence stories: The Men’s Referral Service provides counselling and referrals for men who are concerned about their behaviour: 1300 766 491
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