Minister D’Ath (fifth from right), QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh (second from left) and stakeholders at the launch of the Plan for Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women 2024-2028. Photo: Yvette D’Ath Facebook.
The Queensland Government has announced it will invest nearly $56 million into initiatives to combat domestic and family violence in the state.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Yvette D’Ath said the investment would be made as part of the government’s five-year Plan for the Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women 2024-2028, a plan to strengthen and inform domestic and family violence (DFV) training across the state.
The initiatives in the plan are the result of recommendations from The Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce’s Hear Her Voice Report One. It aims to prevent violence from occurring in the first place, thus reducing the number of victim-survivors and the demand on the criminal justice and service system.
It says these goals require a whole of society approach in addressing the systems, structures, norms, attitudes, practices and power imbalances that drive this violence.
Some $16 million will be invested to:
- Fund community organisations in urban, rural and remote Queensland to lead community education projects focused on building and embedding positive and respectful relationships
- Fund Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations, to lead initiatives aimed at strengthening the factors that protect against domestic, family and sexual violence
- Deliver and evaluate a statewide peer-to-peer program providing training to young people to promote healthier masculinities, building healthy relationship skills and social connections
- Establish a dedicated primary prevention team to lead and coordinate the plan’s implementation.
A $5.35m investment across five years in Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) – the state’s new peak body for the DFV sector – will provide for shelters, women’s health and wellbeing services and perpetrator intervention services, and will oversee its development into an independent standalone peak body.
A comprehensive training and change management framework for frontline DFV organisations, community and legal organisations and government agencies has also been released to support new coercive control laws in Queensland.
It offers evidence-based information and resources to assist organisations deliver consistent trauma-informed and culturally appropriate DFV training to staff and volunteers.
The framework will be funded to the tune of $34.6 million that includes foundational DFV training modules, a statewide Training Support and Coordination Service and evaluation which will assist organisations in providing consistent training responses across the state.
Minister D’Ath said the investment built upon the work the government was doing to prevent and respond to DFV.
“This five-year plan prioritises actions that address the drivers of violence against women and supports a safer Queensland that upholds the values of equality and respect for the entire community,” she said.
“Everybody has a role to play in shifting attitudes and behaviours that underpin violence against women, as we all deserve to feel safe from the threat or experience of domestic, family and sexual violence.”
QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said she was pleased to collaborate with the DFV sector to establish a dedicated peak body, ensuring a robust and independent voice.
“After more than 65 years serving as the peak body for the community services sector, QCOSS is well equipped to support the development of a specialised peak for domestic and family violence services,” she said.
“During the interim, QCOSS will provide advocacy for DFV services and foster their participation in policy and legislative processes.
“The establishment of a DFV peak body enhances the sector’s capacity to address domestic violence, support prevention efforts, and respond effectively to those affected,” she added.
“This important milestone reflects a key recommendation from the Women’s Justice and Safety Taskforce, championed by the community services sector and DFV services.”
