New Action Plans include concrete steps and targets to end gender-based violence

All Australian governments have agreed to concrete actions and measurable targets to end gender-based violence within a generation with the release of two Action Plans under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

The Albanese Labor Government has today released the First Action Plan and the dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan which chart the path to reducing – and ultimately ending – the pervasive rates of family, domestic and sexual violence in communities across the nation.

One in four women have experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience disproportionately higher rates of violence than non-Indigenous women.

For the first time, the First Action Plan set targets to end violence, including a 25 per cent annual reduction in female victims of intimate partner homicide. Ending violence means changing community attitudes, which is why we’re also setting targets to see more people across the community reject violence against women.

The Commonwealth will work together with states and territories to consider and agree ways to further measure progress across each of the four domains of the National Plan, over the life of the First Action Plan.

Actions outlined in the Plans for governments to work towards include:

• Developing a range of supporting resources to help promote and implement the National Principles to Address Coercive Control in Family and Domestic Violence
• Providing services in prisons and places of detention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are both victims and perpetrators of family, domestic and sexual violence, including children
• Establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men’s Advisory Body to provide advice and leadership on issues such as family violence, gender equality, programs and services for men, boys and men’s issues in general
• Bolstering trauma-informed supports and exploring new innovative models for recovery for victim-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence
• Funding education and training on family, domestic and sexual violence for community mainstream workers, health professionals, and the justice sector including training and capacity-building training for judicial and legal practitioners
• Implementing measures that provide a connected and coordinated response to address technology-facilitated abuse, including a national support service to assist victim survivors as well as frontline service staff

The Albanese Labor Government has invested $2.3 billion over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Budgets to address women’s safety and support deliver of the Action Plans. This includes committing to $194 million over five years in the 2023-24 Budget towards First Nations family safety initiatives to be implemented in line with priorities identified in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan.

The full actions and targets can be seen in the Outcomes Framework.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan is the first dedicated plan to address violence against women and children in First Nations communities and was developed in true partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.

It acknowledges that the underlying causes of violence against First Nation peoples are different to that of non-Indigenous Australians and aims to address the disproportionately high rates of violence First Nations women and children experience.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said all governments across Australia were committed to the goal of ending violence against women and children in one generation.

“I thank all my state, territory and Commonwealth colleagues for working together to make this a reality and for all pulling in the same direction to end violence against women and children,” Minister Rishworth said.

“These Action Plans, and the important Outcomes Framework, bring us closer to achieving our goal to end violence against women and children and to creating real, lasting change.

“No woman or child should live in fear from violence. No woman or child should have their lives terrorised by someone who professed to love and care for them. No woman or child should have their lives ended prematurely due to that violence.”

Minister Rishworth said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan was important to recognise the unique challenges and additional barriers faced by First Nations women when seeking support for family, domestic, and sexual violence.

“This is why we worked in genuine partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council to achieve the best possible outcomes for individuals and their communities,” Minister Rishworth said.

Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Justine Elliot emphasised the need for everyone to act on the unacceptable rates of violence in Australia.

“Violence against women and children is abhorrent, and that is why these clear joint and individual actions are so vital and timely,” Assistant Minister Elliot said.

“The Action Plans and Outcomes Framework facilitate the effective tracking, monitoring and reporting of changes over the life of the National Plan, which will mean governments can deliver tailored resources, services and support.

“By working closely with victim-survivors, the sector, community leaders, business, and industry, and the states and territories – we can pave the way to a country free from fear and violence,” said Assistant Minister Elliot.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said the dedicated Action Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women demonstrates the Government’s commitment to creating a safer future for First Nations women and children.

“This plan is a first for our country and has been developed by listening and working with First Nations people, because we know that listening is the key to developing better policies and programs and delivering better outcomes,” Minister Burney said.

The First Action Plan is accompanied by an Activities Addendum detailing investments and efforts by governments to implement actions and targets under the Action Plans. This will be a living document, updated annually.

Along with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan, the First Action Plan and the Outcomes Framework play an integral role in contributing to achieving the outcomes of the National Plan.