In our recent submission to the 2024-25 Commonwealth Budget, NTV highlighted the need for ongoing funding to build a coordinated national response to stop men using family violence and keep women, children and communities safer.

The national family violence crisis continues into 2024. At least 63 women were killed by violence in Australia last year, and already this year a further four women have lost their lives at the hands of a current or former partner. Men continue to use power, control and violence in their families and in their relationships and women, children and communities across the country continue to suffer the consequences.  

The Commonwealth Government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and their Children (2022-32) has identified that working with men who use violence to hold them to account is critical to the Plan’s stated objective of ending family violence within a generation. However inconsistent and inadequate funding has led to a men’s intervention sector that is fragmented and no longer able to cope with ongoing and increasing demand.  

“Services that work with men to change their behaviour are competing for limited funding and staff across the board are stretched to the limit,” said NTV CEO Phillip Ripper.  

“Our NTV members are out on the ground across the country doing incredible work with men to support them to take responsibility for their own behaviours and make better, safer, more respectful choices. Services know what is most effective in addressing violence in their communities. Yet there is a huge gap in bringing this knowledge and expertise together to build a national sector that prioritises accountability and behaviour change for men and really starts to make a dent in this crisis.” 

NTV member Relationships Australia NSW (RANSW) is the largest overall provider of domestic and family violence programs in NSW and operates four Men’s Behaviour Change programs in the state. RANSW CEO Elisabeth Shaw said: “We have 235 men waiting for places in the four programs we provide, and we know that other services in NSW are experiencing similar demand. It is high-risk to have men using violence waiting months to access these services.”  

“Between 50% and 75% are still in a relationship with a female partner, and the vast majority have children. That is a lot of people needing our immediate support who could be in considerable danger”.  

Another NTV member, Family Life, delivers Men’s Behaviour Change Programs to over 1200 men in Victoria each year. A spokesperson highlighted the need for funding which allows more flexible and innovative services.  

“There is a critical need for both individualised and all-of-family responses in addressing this complex problem. We are committed to working with funders to develop innovative solutions which create meaningful change for families.”    

Mr Ripper said NTV’s Commonwealth Budget submission calls for targeted and sustainable funding to build a strong and effective men’s intervention sector.  

“This will help shift the burden and create meaningful progress towards the vision of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and their Children.” 

  No to Violence’s submission outlines funding priorities including:  

• Providing sustainable funding for critical intervention services via the National Partnership Agreement   
• Developing a National Perpetration Plan to understand prevalence and pathways to violence; service mapping; workforce development strategy; and monitoring and evaluation strategy   
• Funding No to Violence’s work as the national peak body for men’s family violence services to ensure sector knowledge is maximised.  

The submission highlights the urgency of sustainable funding, community-led approaches, and a comprehensive plan to address the complex issue of family violence.

Read the full submission here.