The Auditor-General has tabled his report, Keeping People Safe From Domestic and Family Violence, in Parliament.
Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said the audit examined how effectively public sector entities kept people safe from domestic and family violence (DFV), how they prevented it from occurring, and the rehabilitated perpetrators to minimise re-offending.
“We found that the system that responds to DFV in Queensland is under pressure,” Mr Worrall said.
“As first responders, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) recorded over 139,000 DFV occurrences in 2021-22 — an increase of nearly 48 per cent in the last six years,” he said.
“The Government and non-Government entities who carry out this work and effort are overloaded and under pressure, which at times has contributed to poor responses and even tragic outcomes.”
He said there had been reviews and coronial inquests, increased efforts, funding, and new initiatives, including changes to legislation.
“Since 2015 the Queensland Government has committed more than $600 million in programs, services and strategies to address domestic and family violence,” Mr Worrall said.
“Some efforts have also been made to co-locate different services and to cooperate on specific issues,” he said.
“Despite all of this, and the fact that every review has recommended more information-sharing and more collaborative efforts, the various Government and non-Government entities that deal with domestic violence are still not working together as much as they need to.”
The Auditor-General said his audit made 21 recommendations, many aimed at enhancing the system through holistic case management, better responses through inter-Agency coordination, prevention, supporting young people and tackling inter-generational violence.
“We have also made recommendations to address identified gaps in training, risk assessing, and educating to help prevent domestic and family violence,” Mr Worrall said.
Attorney-General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Shannon Fentiman welcomed the audit report, saying the Government would be accepting all of its recommendations.
The Auditor-General’s 87-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
