Page 4551 - Week 12 - Thursday, 26 October 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
housing-related support but do not meet the criteria for being accepted into a domestic violence specialist accommodation service or outreach support. The ACT Government has dedicated $315,000 in funding over four years to assist people with their immediate needs through practical financial assistance to establish a private rental tenancy after fleeing violence to help create stability, independence and avoid homelessness.
The funding is being delivered through a pilot program which is now underway. Under the pilot, applicants who are eligible for the Housing ACT Rental Bonds Loan Scheme and are affected by domestic and family violence are able to apply for a one-off grant of up to $2,000. The grant can be used to assist with the removal and storage costs, buying furniture and whitegoods, the cost of connecting utilities and services and paying up to four weeks advance rent.
These applicants also receive fast-tracked access to an interest-free loan of up to 90 per cent of their rental bond under the existing Housing ACT Rental Bonds Loan Scheme.
As part of a holistic approach to enhanced service response to Housing ACT clients experiencing or escaping from family and domestic violence, a new ‘Domestic and Family Violence Policy Manual’ was released in October 2015 for Housing ACT staff along with mandatory domestic and family violence training. Two hour awareness training for non frontline staff and two-day identification and response training for frontline staff was rolled out in late 2015 and early 2016 and is also provided to new starters.
Additionally, the collaborative body for the ACT Specialist Homelessness Sector, Joint Pathways Executive, delivered workforce development and training with frontline homelessness workers to maintain a highly skilled workforce with the capacity to respond to emerging needs. Workforce development continues to be an ongoing priority for the Joint Pathways Executive in 2017-18.
In order to help women to access the supports available to them, the Women’s Information Service is a free and confidential information and referral service provided by the Office for Women to support women in our community. The Women’s Information Officer routinely provides information and referrals to women who have or are experiencing domestic and family violence.
Additional resources for crisis services
The ACT has a range of services and supports for victims of domestic and family violence and sexual assault. Most of these services and programs experienced significant increase in demand in the five years prior to delivery of the ACT Government Response to Family Violence. For instance, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service reported a significant increase in emergency call outs and in crisis support telephone sessions and emergency accommodation placements between 2011 and 2014-15. The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre also reported an increase in demand across all areas of service provision between 2011 and 2014-15.
To support the vital work these services provide to people affected by family violence, the ACT Government committed $830,000 to Domestic Violence Crisis Service and $416,000 to Canberra Rape Crisis Centre over a four-year period, in addition to their baseline annual funding.
The additional funding is assisting Domestic Violence Crisis Service to meet the increased demand to support victims of domestic and family violence in the ACT, including through enhancing Domestic Violence Crisis Service’s capacity to provide 24/7 telephone and
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video