Hunter DV support network rejects calls for 'costly and disruptive' sector shakeup

The Hunter's specialist family and domestic violence support network has rejected calls for a publicly-funded domestic and family violence service.

On Tuesday, the Public Service Association of NSW launched a campaign calling for a public service structured alongside policing, housing, health and child protection.

The union said Australia's domestic violence response is "failing women" despite record spending commitments, because services were fragmented, inconsistent and often outsourced.

The Hunter DFV Consortium, a representative body for a number of Hunter based organisations, has joined DVNSW in calling for increased funding as opposed to a "costly, highly disruptive" restructure of the service model.

Brittany Jack, CEO of Nova for Women and Children said she understood there were many instances of times when women and children have been let down by a system under massive stress.

"There will be specific examples of people being let down under the system, but one way to reach better outcomes for people is by improving funding and a 50 per cent increase will go some way," she said.

"Most operators are working at 150 per cent of what they are funded for."

Ms Jack said the PSA campaign "misses a trick" in the unique ways not-for-profits and NGOs have contributed to helping women and children escape family and domestic violence.

"The women's refuge movement arose out of gaps left by government," she said.

"These organisations have created so much of the support system that exists today.

"We should listen to those who wrote the book rather than moving it to the government sector."

She said a restructuring under the governmental roof may alienate those seeking help.

"A public model misses some nuances about how people from different backgrounds interact with government institutions," she said.

"For many victim-survivors, particularly Aboriginal women, there is a mistrust of government systems due to ongoing experiences of systemic racism.

"Fear of child protection services and policing remains a significant barrier to seeking help."

"If we want to improve outcomes we need to better fund the services in our communities and empower their work."

Carolyn Hodge, acting CEO of DVNSW, said there needs to be a significant increase of funding into the Domestic and Family Violence sector to ensure specialist services can meet demand.

"We don't agree that moving to a public service model is an appropriate solution," she said.

Ms Hodge said she found the timing of the Public Services Association campaign deeply disappointing, as NSW heads into a critical state budget period and the specialist DFV sector is united in calling for a 50 per cent increase to core funding.

This campaign undermines 50 years of specialist, trauma and domestic violence-informed service delivery to victim-survivors. It risks dismantling an existing system that, while underfunded, already reaches thousands of victim-survivors every year.

"There is no evidence that replacing the existing specialist sector with a single, centralised model would improve outcomes.

"Rather, transitioning to a single, government-run provider would be costly, highly disruptive, and would likely reduce service capacity in the short to medium term."

"Services are already being asked to do more with less - with many operating at up to nine times their funded capacity after more than a decade of stagnant funding.

Ms Hodge said the issue is exacerbated in regional areas where services and victim-survivors face compounding issues such as geographical isolation, vast service delivery areas and structural barriers.

"Greater impact is far more likely to be achieved by properly funding and strengthening the specialist DFV sector that is already in place."

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said she was aware of the PSA campaign and highlighted the role of NGOs in victim support.

"The domestic and family violence sector and specialist workers do incredibly challenging work supporting victim-survivors who are escaping abuse," she said.

"They do vital work every day to keep victim-survivors safe.

"The NGO sector has delivered the vast majority of specialist services to women and children experiencing DFV for over 60 years.

"Women, particularly Aboriginal women, can feel safety in seeking support from community-based, local services.

"Since coming to government, in every budget we have increased investment to address domestic and family violence.

"We are working closely with the sector, including Domestic Violence NSW, in implementing a Workforce Development Strategy to build and strengthen this workforce.

"We are taking a whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach to address domestic and family violence in our state, and we continue to work with advocates, victim-survivors, the sector and stakeholders in our responses."

• Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732. Phone triple zero 000 in an emergency.

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