New Sea Wales Treasurer Matt Kean said more than $426 million is being invested in the NSW Government’s Core and Cluster program to deliver new refugees that will be operational by the end of 2025-26.
“This funding represents the largest single capital investment in domestic and family violence in the NSW Government’s history and will provide long-term infrastructure to support women and children seeking safety,” Mr Kean said.
“Improving women’s and children’s safety and preventing domestic and sexual violence is a key priority.”
Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward also said that the new refuges delivered under the NSW Government’s Core and Cluster program follow trials in Orange and Griffith.
“These 39 new refuges will be designed in the new Core and Cluster model, which is an innovative approach that provides independent living and access to critical services such as counselling, legal assistance and further education on-site,” Mrs Ward said.
Additionally, we have doubled funding for capacity building projects, from $2.2 million to $4.4 million, to support service providers to become involved in the delivery of focused and culturally sensitive domestic and family violence services.”
Key sector peak bodies, including Aboriginal Domestic and Family Violence and Specialist Homelessness Services, Aboriginal Community Housing Providers, regional based Services and smaller organisations, are delivering the Core and Cluster Sector Capacity Building Grants.
Minister for Families and Communities, and Minister for Disability Services, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, said Domestic and Family Violence was the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in NSW, with 39% of all people who accessed Specialist Homelessness Services in 2019/20 reporting that they had experienced Domestic and Family Violence.
“The funding for new crisis refuges will enable frontline service providers to support up to an additional 2,900 more women and children each year who have escaped domestic abuse and provide them with housing and specialist services,” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
“In addition to the Core and Cluster program, approximately 200 social and affordable homes for women experiencing domestic and family violence will be provided and dedicated support for up to 3,200 accompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.”
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor says 20 of the 39 new refugees will be in regional NSW, including Lithgow, Maitland and Far West.
“The locations of the Core and Cluster refuges will be in areas where there is high unmet demand for services, including regional and rural areas, and will support 2,900 more women and children each year who have escaped domestic abuse,” Mrs Taylor said.
In 2020-21, almost 40% of the people who accessed specialist homelessness services in NSW, across our cities, regional and rural communities, had experienced domestic abuse.
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