I thank the Member for Northern Metropolitan Region for her question. The Andrews Labor Government is committed to ending family violence and is continuing to lead whole of system reforms.

The 2022-23 State Budget delivers $240 million over four years to support victim survivors of family violence and sexual assault, including:

• $69.1 million over four years to expand refuge and crisis accommodation options for victim survivors of family violence. This includes construction and operation of two new core and cluster refuges and the purchase of six more crisis accommodation properties. In addition, we’re partnering with three community service organisations to redevelop their facilities to provide accommodation to additional victim survivors and their families.
• $30.1 million over three years to deliver a system of perpetrator interventions, including through additional Men’s Behaviour Change Programs and perpetrator case management, continuation of interventions for specific cohorts of perpetrators, and continuation of the perpetrator accommodation program. Funding is also provided to trial new interventions for high-risk perpetrators.
• $43.4 million over three years to ensure victim survivors of family violence continue to receive support to stay safe, recover and thrive. This includes providing access to flexible funding for victim survivors, therapeutic interventions for children and young people, additional funding to respond to demand for specialist family violence case management services and funding the Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety to continue to build the evidence base for effective and targeted interventions.
• $33.3 million over three years to prevent sexual violence and support victim survivors of sexual violence.
• $19.0 million over three years for Respect Victoria, Victoria’s first dedicated primary prevention agency.
• $30.0 million over two years for the operation of the Central Information Point (CIP).

Funding allocated in the 2022-23 State Budget builds on the Andrews Labor Government’s $3.5 billion investment into family violence reform so far, which is more than all states in Australia combined and represents a larger investment than the Commonwealth. 

In addition, in the 2021-22 financial year the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing Hume Moreland Area received a total of $23.8 million in specialist family violence and sexual assault funding. This represents an increase of approximately 60 per cent from 2020-21. 

Of this, $2.9 million was allocated to provide access to refuge for victim survivors needing a secure crisis accommodation response. This includes funding to operate a new core and cluster refuge constructed in the area as part of the refuge redevelopment program, which commenced operations in late 2021. 

In addition, $9.4 million established The Orange Door network in the Hume Moreland Area which opened on 15 February 2022 and is providing support for families across multiple sites. The Orange Door is a free service that brings together workers from specialist family violence services for victim survivors and perpetrators, Aboriginal services and child and family services. The Orange Door provides coordinated support including crisis assistance, support to families under stress, risk assessments, safety planning and wellbeing support, as well as a range of community-based services. 

The Hon. Ros Spence MP

Minister for Prevention of Family Violence

 19/7/2022