4. Services that support victim-survivors to safely navigate separation
   1. As previous chapters have established, victim-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) face many barriers in seeking the protection of family violence orders (FVOs) through the state and territory courts, and resolving separation matters through the family law courts. A range of legal and non-legal supports are needed. The Committee is aware there is significant work underway to address these issues, which were examined by a recent review[1] of legal assistance. Significant new funding commitments and measures have been announced. For these reasons, the Committee limited its focus to examining selected issues raised about support services based on evidence relating to existing funding arrangements. This chapter provides an overview of current funding of services and examines:

• the importance of accessible legal and non-legal services, including wrap-around support
• concerns services are unable to meet demand and are under-resourced
• the availability of preventative interventions such as therapeutic services and behavioural change programs for perpetrators of FDSV.
  2. The chapter also details relevant recent funding announcements.

Current funding of services

4.3As noted in chapter one, the Australian government provides a range of programs supporting victim-survivors of FDSV, including legal and non-legal support in the family law system, assisting victim-survivors through the social security and child support systems, and providing safe and secure housing. Some of these services are provided in partnership with the states and territories.[2]

4.4The Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) administers funding for key legal and non-legal support services for children and families through the National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020-25 (NLAP) and the Family Relationships Services Program (FRSP):

• NLAP is providing $2.4 billion over five years for legal assistance services across Australia, including Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS), legal aid commissions (LACs), community legal centres (CLCs, including women’s legal services) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS).[3] NLAP also funds 17 community legal service providers to deliver specialist domestic violence units (DVUs) and health justice partnerships (HJPs) in 21locations around the country, and one online model in Victoria.[4]
• Over $250 million per annum is currently provided for FRSP. Services include Family Relationship Centres, the Family Relationship Advice Line, Family Dispute Resolution, Family Counselling, Children’s Contact Services, the Parenting Orders Program/Post Separation Cooperative Parenting Program, and Supporting Children After Separation program.[5]
  5. Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) are currently funded through the National Indigenous Australians Agency and provide critical, culturally safe legal and non-legal assistance to victim-survivors and children in FirstNations communities.[6]
  6. Department of Social Services (DSS) administers the Keeping Women Safe in their Homes program, which provides support services and security upgrades for victim-survivors of FDSV so that they and their children can stay in their own home or a home of their choice, where it is safe to do so.[7] Funding for the program is $76.53million from 2015-16 to 2026-27.[8] DSS also supports a range of other measures relating to housing, such as transitional housing, emergency and crisis accommodation.[9]
  7. Other Australian Government programs assisting victim-survivors of FDSV include Crisis Payments and other social security measures that were noted in the first chapter, and the No Interest Loans Scheme[10], 1800RESPECT,Specialised Family Violence Services[11], and First Nations community-led men's wellness centres.[12]
  8. State and territory governments are responsible for the distribution of funding to non-legal support services based on need under the National Partnership on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses 2021-27 (FDSV National Partnership). Under the FDSV National Partnership, the Australian Government is investing $159million over two years from 2023-24. This builds on earlier funding commitments, which includes $169.4million over four years from 2022-23 to fund 500 new frontline service and community workers to support people experiencing FDSV. FDSV National Partnership funded services include accommodation, helplines, perpetrator interventions, sexual violence services, and legal support services for victim-survivors and perpetrators of violence.[13]

The importance of accessible legal and non-legal services

4.9As earlier chapters have established, the impacts of FDSV are felt in every aspect of a victim-survivor’s life, including their physical and mental health, living situation, employment and financial stability.[14] This represents a range of complex social, health and legal needs.[15] While it is crucial that families experiencing FDSV have access to legal assistance[16], a holistic, wrap-around response is required to help victim-survivors and their children navigate separation safely through the FVO and family law systems and to rebuild their lives and heal after traumatic experiences of FDSV.[17]

Legal proceedings can be confusing and distressing for self-represented litigants

4.10The Committee heard that accessible, quality legal advice is critical for ensuring victim-survivors achieve safe and fair outcomes in court proceedings, including ongoing financial independence.[18] A victim-survivor’s experience navigating the fragmented justice system described in earlier chapters can be emotionally and financially costly and time-consuming, where the burden of proof resides with them.[19] The nature of the court system is adversarial and protracted, and this is inherently difficult for many and adds to financial stress.[20]In addition to being financially prohibitive, many victim-survivors find navigating the legal system confusing, overwhelming and retraumatising.[21]

4.11Early access to legal advice helps victim-survivors avoid prolonged legal proceedings and reduces the stress and trauma of engaging with the legal system in FDSV matters.[22] The challenges experienced by self-represented litigants shows how difficult it is to try to navigate the FVO and family law systems safely and achieve good outcomes without legal advice and representation.

4.12Many victim-survivors of FDSV must self-represent because they cannot afford legal representation or are ineligible for legal support. According to Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, 21 per cent of cases in the family law system involve one or both parties not having legal representation at some point in proceedings.[24]

4.13Self-represented victim-survivors face daunting legal complexities without adequate legal knowledge.[25] A victim-survivor may have to file six documents that are about fifty pages long just to commence proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).[26] They must then face their perpetrator at court, who may be privately represented, and make a complex legal argument before a judicial officer.[27]

4.14With a lack of legal expertise, victim-survivors are often unable to sufficiently document their experience of violence and can experience pressure to settle for unsafe or unsatisfactory outcomes.[28] For example, Peninsula Community Legal Centre observed:

… our duty lawyers have seen unrepresented applicants who have experienced family violence who have been bullied or pushed into parenting orders by the lawyers for the opposite party, or even succumbed to pressure to agree by a judicial officer, in a context where the opposite should be happening. Other unrepresented litigants have reported that they consented to final orders which were not in their own or their children’s best interest because they were so fatigued by the perpetrator’s ongoing threats and the litigation itself that they just wanted to get out of the system to try to protect themselves.[29]

4.15Victim-survivors who self-represent are more vulnerable to systems abuse.[30]Conversely, perpetrators who self-represent can weaponise the court system to continue their own abuse and prolong proceedings, thereby increasing costs for the other party.[31] The Committee heard that lawyers would ordinarily play an important role in addressing and curbing this behaviour from their client.[32]

Wrap-around support

4.16The Committee heard that the range of legal and non-legal issues victim-survivors of FDSV experience require wrap-around supports rather than supports that only deal with isolated legal matters.[34] This includes mental health support, housing and accommodation, financial counselling, legal assistance for associated issues such as tenancy and employment, drug and alcohol treatment and relationship counselling.[35] Addressing these issues at the earliest opportunity is critical to reduce escalation in FDSV and legal matters, and to minimise the compounding harms that vulnerable people experience, which can easily snowball.[36] Housing, for example, is critical for safety and stability, and a lack of housing is a major barrier to leaving violent relationships.[37]

4.17As this chapter and earlier chapters have established, the work being undertaken by all Australian governments to eliminate FDSV under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 (National Plan) are broad in scope and include a wide range of measures to prevent violence against women and children, and to support victim-survivors to safely navigate separation. There are some services that focus on specific needs like legal assistance, while others seek to address victim-survivors needs more holistically.

4.18For example, FASS is available in most FCFCOA registries and provides information, advice and referrals including about how to obtain an FVO, if necessary. FASS staff include social workers or counsellors in addition to legal advisors.[38] Legal aid duty solicitors and Court Network volunteers are also available at most FCFCOA registries.[39]

4.19Some programs link up services and supports for victim-survivors and their children to address all their needs. For example:

• DVUs provide free frontline legal assistance and other holistic support, including assisting clients to access services such as tenancy assistance, financial counselling, trauma counselling, emergency accommodation and employment services.[40]
• HJPs integrate legal assistance into health services. HJPs are often established between publicly funded legal services and health and social service settings such as hospitals, community health services, alcohol and other drug services, child and family services, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community‑Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).[41] According to Health Justice Australia, this integrated, collaborative model works especially well where people have complex and intersecting needs that undermine their health and wellbeing.[42]
• Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre (Safe Steps) offers access to confidential support, information and referral for victim-survivors of FDSV in Victoria, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Through FASS, Safe Steps assists victim-survivors in FCFCOA with risk assessment and safety planning, practical information and support while at court, and referrals to other services.[43]
• Orange Door is a Victorian Government program that provides a physical point of entry for children, young people and families needing support at locations across Victoria.[44] Orange Door provides risk and needs assessment, safety planning and crisis support, as well as connecting people to a range of services. Orange Door also works with perpetrators to change their behaviours.[45]
  20. Some services are designed specifically to support groups that are more vulnerable to FDSV and who experience additional barriers to safety and justice. For example, FVPLS are ACCOs that provide a holistic model of supporting victim-survivors. Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS), one of 14 FVPLS across Australia, have case managers who work with victim-survivors of FDSV to address their legal and non-legal needs. QIFVLS services 91 communities across Queensland and the Torres Strait.[46]
  21. While CLCs provide free legal assistance to Australians experiencing FDSV, financial hardship, disadvantage and discrimination, many CLCs also offer trauma-informed and holistic supports and often work in collaboration with other community service professionals and organisations, such as family violence services, health services, financial counselling services and schools.[47] The Committee heard this place-based model means that support can be tailored to particular communities[48], and, because of their connections to other services, CLCs are uniquely suited to supporting victim‑survivors of FDSV.[49]
  22. Many CLCs support diverse communities and have developed networks that provide wrap-around supports for victim-survivors of FDSV. For example, Westjustice provides duty lawyer services and advice, casework and representation, a family violence early resolution service and a restoring financial safety program. Westjustice also works with community-based family violence workers, settlement services, local health services and housing services.[50] It currently has formal partnerships with several services including a hospital, a maternal and child health team, a women’s service that provides refuge accommodation, and Orange Door.[51]
  23. Finding crisis accommodation or a place to rent that will allow pets is difficult and can be a reason for victim-survivors to stay in unsafe housing. Lucy’s Project called for all services supporting victim-survivors to recognise and respond to animal abuse as a form of family and domestic violence, and to provide support that ensures the safety of victim-survivors and their animals.[52]

A victim advocate

4.24The Western Australian Government is currently exploring a single advocacy model to better support victim-survivors of FDSV across the entire justice system. Under this model, a single advocate would support a victim-survivor and help them navigate a range of different court situations, such as civil, criminal or family law matters. The Western Australian Government said victim-survivors need an advocate or support person ‘… who can walk with the victim through these complex legal matters …’[53]

Concerns services are unable to meet demand and are under-resourced

4.25Concerns were raised that critical legal and non-legal services for victim-survivors of FDSV are overburdened and under resourced, and services are either turning vulnerable people away or are unable to deliver enough support.[54] It was reported that, nationally, 52,000 women go without support from women’s legal services due to resourcing constraints.[55] Hume Riverina Community Legal Service turned away more than 1,795people in 2023-24.[56]

4.26The Committee heard there are long wait times for all but the most urgent cases[57], and victim-survivors are often ‘passed around’ and made to contact different services seeking assistance with their legal and non-legal issues.[58] Many services are unable to sustain assistance for prolonged family law court proceedings[59], which means that the safety of women and children may not be appropriately monitored or coordinated for the duration of proceedings.[60]

4.27The Committee heard that state and federal funding agreements do not adequately support important early intervention and preventative services.[61] This means that support services are operating as a form of immediate crisis response, rather than proving early intervention, prevention or ongoing support to victim-survivors.[62] Stakeholders said that further and targeted funding is required to supports early intervention and preventive services.[63]

4.28The adequacy of Australian Government legal assistance funding was considered by an independent review of NLAP. The review reported in March 2024 and found that:

• demand exceeded the current capacity of the legal assistance sector
• current funding levels are insufficient to meet the legal needs of the Australian community
• due to broader socio-economic conditions and policy changes, these needs are continuing to grow.[64]
  29. There was strong support for sustainable and equitable funding for services to provide wrap-around support to victim-survivors of FDSV and children[65] and for the implementation of the NLAP review recommendations.[66] Specific concerns were raised about resourcing for LACs, CLCs and FASS.

Legal aid and pro bono work

4.30The legal aid system currently operates under a mixed model of service delivery, in which LACs brief out matters to private firms at reduced rates. This model is critical to sustainable service delivery[67], however it was reported to the Committee that it is becoming financially unviable for private lawyers to support legal aid clients in family law matters, particularly outside major cities.[68] National Legal Aid said there are entire regions where vital legal assistance is simply unavailable.[69]

4.31While many national legal firms do pro bono work, the Committee heard this work is limited in family law matters. This is partly because family law matters are expensive to run, protracted and complex, and often involve other intersecting legal issues.[70] However, the market for family law solicitors is strong, which means it is difficult for firms to match salaries when they are supporting family law matters on legal aid rates. It can be difficult to find staff, and these cases will often fall to junior solicitors.[71] There was support for legal aid payments to be increased so that private practitioners can provide legal aid effectively and sustainably.[72]

4.32Concerns were also raised that the means test for legal aid was too high.[73] For example, National Legal Aid reported that only eight per cent of Australian households are eligible for legal aid and called for the means test to be raised by at least one per cent.[74]

Community Legal Centres

4.33The Committee heard that the role of CLCs in providing wrap-around services is not adequately recognised in current funding structures. CLCs’ capacity to provide a full suite of wrap-around supports is limited by siloed funding, which prevents CLCs from incorporating or collaborating with non-legal services.[75]

4.34For example, earlier it was noted that Westjustice has several partnerships that allow it to support a broad range of victim-survivors needs. It reported that the funding allocated to these partnerships is limited and short term.[76] Westjustice said that CLCs are not adequately funded for pre-court and ongoing legal representation, or in Children’s Court and FCFCOA matters, as most funding for these matters is directed towards LACs.[77] Some CLCs, such as Northern Community Legal Centre, are relying on philanthropic funding to deliver wrap-around services to victim-survivors.[78]

4.35Concerns were also raised about the sustainability of the CLC workforce, including that CLC staff are currently paid less than those working in legal aid and private practice.[79] South-East Monash Legal Service reported that many lawyers are suffering burnout from dealing with a high number of clients, and are unable to provide the level of assistance they could if they were better resourced.[80]

Family Advocacy and Support Services

4.36The Committee heard Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS) can be difficult to access and slow to respond[81] and provides limited ongoing legal assistance.[82] Nerang Neighbourhood Centre suggested this may be partly due to the ‘housing’ of FASS within the legal aid structure in the states and territories, and partly due to a lack of resources.[83] FCFCOA noted that FASS is not accessible to all parties who need it due to limited resources and because it is in the process of adapting to a remote or online provision.[84] There was strong support for FASS to be expanded with additional resourcing.[85]

Preventive interventions for perpetrators of FDSV

4.37Therapeutic and behavioural change programs provide opportunities for perpetrators of FDSV to be accountable and achieve lasting change in their behaviours by addressing the underlying reasons for their violence.[86] However, offenders must be supported and motivated to rehabilitate.[87] According to National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance, these types of programs are particularly important to First Nations communities.[88]

4.38The Committee heard there is currently limited Australian Government funding for men’s behaviour change programs and most services are funded through the states and territories.[89] Westjustice reported that magistrates courts have stopped making respondent orders for behavioural change because there are no services to support such orders.[90]

4.39Relationships Australia currently has over 240 men in New South Wales on waitlistsbecause it does not have enough funding to meet demand for men's behaviour change programs and other perpetrator interventions. According to RelationshipsAustralia, these men are ‘there either because they've chosen to be or because someone's told them they have to be, who are therefore at a point where they need to change. Yet then we have to say to them: “Well, no. Now you'll wait.”’[91] Relationships Australia said that, in some locations, piecemeal funding arrangements allow them to deliver only one program in a town, once a year ‘… and it fills up within an hour of it being announced. If you missed it, you wait a year before the next one.’[92]

4.40The Australian Government has committed $10.8 million over 2022-23 to 2025-26 to continue funding No to Violence to deliver a national perpetrator intervention and referral service, which provides telephone and online support and counselling for men who use violent and controlling behaviour.[93] Other current Australian Government initiatives include MensLine Australia[94], a telephone counselling service for men with concerns about mental health, anger management and family violence, and MensLine Changing for Good, which provides a men’s behavioural change program and a violence prevention program.[95]

4.41The Australian Government is supporting several initiatives to better understand the drivers of violence and improving the identification and assessment of perpetrator risk, including research to inform prevention and early intervention approaches.[96] National standards for men’s behavioural change programs will be developed by DSS in cooperation with the states and territories.[97]

4.42FCFCOA is seeking funding for research that would develop a family law specific men’s behavioural change program.[98]

Recent funding announcements

4.43As noted earlier, significant new funding commitments and measures have been announced by the Australian Government in partnership with the states and territories. A new $3.9 billion National Access to Justice Partnership (NAJP) was recently agreed by National Cabinet and will commence when the NLAP expires in June2025.[99] The Attorney-General announced that NAJP will provide increased funding of $800 million over five years from 2025-26 to the legal assistance sector, including:

• $558 million for CLCs and $276 million for Women’s Legal Services, which is a total of $833 million and an increase of $354million
• $367 million for FVPLS, an increase of $193 million
• $838 million for ATSILS, an increase of $326 million
• $1.785 billion for LACs, an increase of $342 million.[100]
  44. The Australian Government has described the NAJP as the largest investment from the Commonwealth in legal assistance ever.[101] According to the Attorney-General, NAJP will:
• quarantine funding for individual parts of the legal assistance sector, providing greater certainty to legal assistance providers across Australia
• reduce pay disparity between CLCs and LACs, enabling CLCs to recruit and retain lawyers
• index funding to respond to changing economic conditions, meaning funding will no longer go backwards in real terms
• simplify funding streams to reduce fragmentation and administrative burden on services
• support progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and deliver on essential long-term outcomes for First Nations people
• prescribe governance and accountability requirements to ensure legal assistance services are providing value for money and run in an accountable and responsible way.[102]
  45. In addition, a renewed, five-year FDSV National Partnership will commence in July2025 and will deliver over $700 million in new matched investments from the Australian and state and territory governments, will support greater flexibility for states and territories to direct funding to meet local need and will be accompanied by stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms. According to DSS, the FDSV National Partnership will include funding for:
• specialist services for women
• services to support children exposed to FDSV to heal and recover
• working with men, including men’s behaviour change programs for perpetrators of gendered violence
• establishing national standards for men’s behaviour change, funded by the Australian Government and led by DSS in consultation with state and territory governments and stakeholders from the FDSV sector
• working with sector experts to identify gaps in supports for children and young people who have experienced or witnessed FDSV, to inform the design and implementation of new and revised initiatives and interventions. According to DSS, this includes a focus on First Nations children and young people through culturally safe consultation and expertise. The Australian Government will also provide increased funding of over $80 million to enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports for children and young people.[103]

Committee comment

4.46Services which support victim-survivors of FDSV to navigate separation safely and to resolve legal issues fairly require adequate, ongoing and sustainable funding. It is unacceptable that overburdened critical services are forced to turn away people, who may be in absolute crisis, due to funding constraints.

4.47National Cabinet has recently agreed to a package of new measures that build on existing funding and aim to put the legal and non-legal supports for victim-survivors of FDSV on a sustainable footing.[104] It is beyond the scope of this inquiry to determine whether the combination of new and existing measures will address funding shortfalls, and it was not possible to test, with new evidence, the adequacy of the recently signed NAJP. The Parliament and the Australian Government should ensure that concerns raised in this inquiry are addressed by the NAJP and the FDSV National Partnership.

4.48It was clear to the Committee that victim-survivors of FDSV need someone to walk with them from the moment they decide to reach out for help — to guide them safely through separation, to advocate for them and to connect them with the services they need. Currently there is a range of services that are performing this role. There is merit in exploring the benefits and feasibility of a single advocacy support model for victim-survivors of FDSV that leverages the expertise and networks of existing support services.

4.49The Committee recommends that, in the next Parliament, the Australian Government undertake a scoping study to explore the benefits and feasibility of a single advocacy support model for victim-survivors of FDSV.

4.50FDSV requires nuanced and holistic responses, and a key part of this is engaging with perpetrators to change their abusive behaviours. While the Committee agrees that court referrals to interventions like men’s behaviour change programs should be compulsory in some circumstances, this is a matter for the states and territories. There is currently not enough of these programs to meet demand, and there is a need to build the evidence base about what works to change perpetrator behaviours. Further funding has been recently committed to supporting men’s behavioural change programs and it is important these programs are fully evaluated.

4.51Given how entrenched and pervasive FDSV is, ongoing funding will need to be committed by future governments to ensure victim-survivors can access services that support safe and fair outcomes for themselves and their children in the FVO and family law systems. But the true cost to victim-survivors and children who have experienced FDSV is far greater. Australian governments must prioritise prevention to eliminate all costs of FDSV and realise the shared goal of ending violence against women and children in ten years, as set out in the National Plan. Implementing the recommendations of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches, including taking further action to reduce gambling harm — as previously recommended by this Committee —will be critical to saving the lives of women and children and eliminating FDSV. The Committee will continue to welcome updates in these areas.

Ms Susan Templeman MP

Chair

7 February 2025

Footnotes

[1]Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership, March 2024.

[2]See: AGD, Submission 15 and Submission 15.1; Department of Social Services (DSS), Submission16, Submission 16.1 and Submission 16.2.

[3]AGD, Submission 15, page 10.

[4]AGD, Submission 15, page 10.

[5]AGD, Submission 15, pages 10-11.

[6]Law Council of Australia (LCA), Submission 67, page 20; AGD, Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership, March 2024, page 24; Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS), Submission 70, page 3.

[7]DSS, Submission 16, page 14.

[8]DSS, Submission 16, page 13.

[9]DSS, Submission 16, page 14, 15.

[10]DSS, Submission 16, page 12.

[11]DSS, Submission 16, page 16.

[12]DSS, Submission 16.2, page 4.

[13]DSS, Submission 16, page 17.

[14]Health Justice Australia (HJA), Submission 45, page 2.

[15]HJA, Submission 45, page 2.

[16]Ms Rachael Pliner, Director, Policy and Advocacy, Federation of Community Legal Centres Vic. (FCLCV), Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 19.

[17]Northern Community Legal Centre (NCLC), Submission 75, page 5.

[18]National Legal Aid (NLA), Submission 61, page 8; Djirra, Submission 74, page 5.

[19]The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Submission 55, page 2; Uniting Vic. Tas., Submission 65, page 13; Mr Nick Tebbey, National Executive Officer, Relationships Australia, Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, page 35.

[20]Ms Bronwyn Pike, Chief Executive Officer, Uniting Vic. Tas., Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, page 35.

[21]Australian Institute of Family Studies, Submission 52, page 7.

[22]Safe and Equal, Submission 83, page 15.

[23]Name withheld, Submission 85, page 2.

[24]Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), Submission 62, page 9.

[25]Barnados Australia, Submission 49, page 5.

[26]Mrs Meaghan Bradshaw, Chair, Family Law and Domestic and Family Violence Committee, Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA), Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, pages 1-2.

[27]Ms Bradshaw, WLSA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 2.

[28]ANROWS, Submission 62, page 9.

[29]Peninsula Community Legal Centre (PCLC), Submission 77, page [5].

[30]FCLCV, Submission 79, page 10.

[31]ANROWS, Submission 62, page 9.

[32]Fitzroy Legal Service, Submission 44, page 4.

[33]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 12.

[34]Hume Riverina Community Legal Service (HRCLS), Submission 72, page 7.

[35]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 6.

[36]FCLCV, Submission 79, page 23.

[37]Tasmania Legal Aid, Submission 35, page [11].

[38]Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), Submission 54, pages 3-4.

[39]FCFCOA, Submission 54, pages 3-4. Court Network is a volunteer-based community organisation that helps court users better understand and navigate the court system in Victoria and Queensland. See: Court Network, What we do, www.courtnetwork.com.au/about/what-we-do, accessed 18September 2024.

[40]AGD, Submission 15, page 10.

[41]HJA, Submission 45, page 1.

[42]HJA, Submission 45, page 2-3.

[43]Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre, Submission 39, page 2.

[44]Victorian Government, About the Orange Door, www.vic.gov.au/about-the-orange-door, accessed 6December 2024.

[45]Victorian Government, About the Orange Door, www.vic.gov.au/about-the-orange-door, accessed 6December 2024.

[46]QIFVLS, Submission 70, page 3.

[47]Ms Pliner, FCLCV, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 19.

[48]NCLC, Submission 75, page 4; Westjustice, Submission 68, page 10.

[49]NCLC, Submission 75, page 4.

[50]Westjustice, Submission 68, pages 1-2 and 9.

[51]Westjustice, Submission 68, pages 1-2 and 9.

[52]Lucy’s Project, Submission 47, page 3.

[53]Ms Kati Kraszlan, Commissioner for Victims of Crime, Department of Justice, Committee Hansard, 11October 2024, page 2.

[54]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 5,10; LCA, Submission 67, page 21; Ms Katherine McKernan, ExecutiveDirector, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 3; NCLC, Submission 75, page 5; LCA, Submission 67, page 20; Feminist Legal Clinic Inc., Submission 76, page 2; South-East Monash Legal Service (SMLS), Submission 80, page19; Ms Wendy Anders, Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance (NATSIWA), Committee Hansard, 23August2024, page 40.

[55]Ms Bradshaw, WLSA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 1.

[56]Ms Alison Maher, Managing Lawyer, Family Law, HRCLS, CommitteeHansard, 30 August 2024, page 21.

[57]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 5.

[58]SMLS, Submission 80, page 11.

[59]Barnados Australia, Submission 49, page 5.

[60]Bayside Peninsula Integrated Family Violence Partnership and the Southern Melbourne Family Violence Regional Integration Committee, Submission 41, page 9.

[61]Ms Cleona Feuerring, Legal Director, Family Violence and Family Law Program, Westjustice, CommitteeHansard, 30 August 2024, page 22; NCLC, Submission 75, page 5, 8.

[62]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 9.

[63]PCLC, Submission 77, page [10]; NCLC, Submission 75, page 7; Ms Feuerring, Westjustice, CommitteeHansard, 30 August 2024, page 22.

[64]AGD, Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership, March 2024, pages ii-iii.

[65]HRCLS, Submission 72, page 7; SMLS, Submission 80, page 12, 19; Ms Anders, NATSIWA, CommitteeHansard, 23 August 2024, page 40; Westjustice, Submission 68, pages 6 and 10-12; WLSA, Submission 69, 12; PCLC, Submission 77, page 13; FCLCV, Submission79, pages 20 and 24; Fitzroy Legal Service, Submission 44, page 4.

[66]LCA, Submission 67, page 23; WLSA, Submission 69, page 15; NCLC, Submission 75, pages 6 and 8.

[67]LCA, Submission 67, page 21.

[68]LCA, Submission 67, page 21; Ms McKernan, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 3-4; MrHarry McDonald, Board Member, Family Law Practitioners Association of Queensland (FLPA), Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 14; Ms McKernan, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page9.

[69]Ms McKernan, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 3-4.

[70]Ms McKernan, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page9.

[71]Mr McDonald, FLPA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 14.

[72]LCA, Submission 67, pages 21-22; Tasmania Legal Aid, Submission 35, page [6].

[73]LCA, Submission 67, page 21.

[74]Ms McKernan, NLA, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, pages 3 and 9.

[75]NCLC, Submission 75, page 5.

[76]Westjustice, Submission 68, pages 1-2 and 9.

[77]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 10.

[78]NCLC, Submission 75, page 5.

[79]Ms Melissa Hardham, Chief Executive Officer, Westjustice, Committee Hansard, 30 August 2024, page 29.

[80]SMLS, Submission 80, page 19-20.

[81]Nerang Neighbourhood Centre, Submission 3, page 8.

[82]PCLC, Submission 77, page [11].

[83]Nerang Neighbourhood Centre, Submission 3, page 8.

[84]FCFCOA, Submission 54, page 10.

[85]Dr Robyn Clough, Manager, Policy and Research, Family and Relationship Services Australia, CommitteeHansard, 23 August 2024, page 31; NLA, Submission 61, page [4]; FCFCOA, Submission 54, page 10; Attorney-General of Western Australia, Submission 88, page 3.

[86]FCFCOA, Submission 54, page 6; DSS, Submission 16, page 8.

[87]Tasmania Legal Aid, Submission 35, page [12].

[88]Ms Anders, NATSIWA, Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, page 40.

[89]Mrs Jacqueline Brady, Executive Director, Family and Relationship Services Australia, Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, page 33.

[90]Westjustice, Submission 68, page 6.

[91]Mr Tebbey, Relationships Australia, Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, page 32.

[92]Mr Tebbey, Relationships Australia, Committee Hansard, 23 August 2024, pages 32-33.

[93]DSS, Submission 16, page 10.

[94]DSS, Submission 16, page 10.

[95]DSS, Submission 16, page 11.

[96]DSS, Submission 16, page 8-10.

[97]DSS, Submission 16.1, page 5.

[98]FCFCOA, Submission 54, page 6.

[99]The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister, and the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General, ‘Anew National Access to Justice Partnership’, Media release, 6 September 2024.

[100]The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney General, ‘A new National Access to Justice Partnership’, Mediarelease, 22 November 2024.

[101]The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister, and the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General, ‘Anew National Access to Justice Partnership’, Media release, 6 September 2024.

[102]The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General, ‘A new National Access to Justice Partnership’, Mediarelease, 22 November 2024.

[103]DSS, Submission 16.1, page 5.

[104]The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney General, ‘A new National Access to Justice Partnership’, Mediarelease, 22 November 2024.