Family and domestic violence—Funding
526. Hon Michelle Boylanto theminister representing the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the minister's statement, reported in The West Australian last Friday, when she said, "any level of FDV is unacceptable" and that the Labor government has invested half a billion dollars since 2017 and delivered significant law reform.
(1) If family and domestic violence is truly unacceptable and this government's investment has been so substantial, why is funding for FDV forecast to decrease by 37% from 2025–26 to 2028–29?
(2) Whilst the state is experiencing the highest levels of reported family and domestic violence in a decade, what is the justification for the funding cut, or does the government believe the crisis will simply correct itself?
Hon Jackie Jarvis replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has been provided by the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence.
(1)–(2) Since the Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce was convened, the state government has invested more than $250 million in new funding and initiatives to strengthen responses to family and domestic violence, taking total investment in new initiatives to more than $550 million since 2017. Some of the new initiatives were established as pilot projects and will be evaluated to ensure we are delivering real results for victim-survivors and the community. Subject to the outcomes of these evaluations, ongoing funding will be considered through standard government processes.
The state government is also in the process of implementing the System Reform Plan, which is implementing wholesale changes to the way that government agencies, the community services sector, frontline workers and the wider community respond to family violence. As this significant body of work continues, new programs and initiatives will be brought forward for consideration through normal budget processes.
The state government has overseen the largest investment in preventing family violence in the state's history, and we will continue to invest in new initiatives during this term of government through the System Reform Plan.
