Page 3655 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 24 November 2021
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across government and community that focus on intervening earlier, reducing barriers to access, joining up and integrating services, and responding to diverse needs.
This budget allocates $46.5 million over the next four years to expand the ACT’s evidence-based approach to preventing and addressing domestic, family and sexual violence. Of this, approximately $30 million is expected to be raised from the family safety levy. The levy recognises that preventing and responding to domestic, family and sexual violence are collective responsibilities across our community. The levy will increase by $5 each year, from $30 per household currently to $50 per household in the 2024-25 financial year. This relatively small increase will help meet additional needs as a result of COVID-19 and it will galvanise action through a systemic approach to preventing and responding to sexual violence.
We recognise the immeasurable contribution of our front-line services and are investing $2.2 million over four years for the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre and the Domestic Violence Crisis Service to meet increased service demand, in addition to annual baseline funding already received from the ACT government.
We are doing the work that is needed to begin to address the issue of sexual assault. We have committed $1.5 million over four years to roll out our sexual assault prevention and response program, working in partnership with our stakeholders and with our community to develop a robust approach focused on prevention, response, law reform and workplace safety. I really must thank the steering committee for driving this essential work throughout COVID-19, and I look forward to receiving their final report.
We are continuing to deliver on our commitments to work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to scope and design domestic and family violence responses in response to the “We don’t shoot our wounded” report. We have committed $790,000 over four years to support this work, including continuing to support the Domestic Violence Prevention Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reference group to prioritise action on the report’s recommendations.
We are continuing to provide integrated services that operate across systems. We are investing $4.1 million over four years to continue the health justice partnership delivered by Legal Aid and the Women’s Legal Centre. The program provides wraparound health and legal support in healthcare settings, primarily to pregnant women and to new families experiencing or at risk of domestic and family violence. The program is reaching people who would not otherwise receive help, before they reach crisis.
There is also $249,000 to continue and expand the family violence safety action pilot after its success in 2020-21. The pilot uses an integrated, collaborative model of information-sharing and case management that focuses on early identification and assessment of risk to women and families.
There is also $1.4 million over four years for the safer families collaboration program, a partnership between Child and Youth Protection Services and the Domestic
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