Right now, women fleeing violence are being turned away from accommodation and services because of insufficient funding towards sector workers, and the failure to recognise this tragedy as a national priority. 

A Labor Government will appoint a Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner and fund 500 new community sector workers to support women in crisis. 

Across the country domestic violence organisation tell us how much more they could do with an extra pair of hands. 

Labor’s commitment to fund 500 new community sector workers will allow: 

• Services to employ an extra case worker to help women go through the complex task of setting up a new, safer life. 
• Community organisations to hire a financial counsellor to help women escape the debt their abuser has run up in their name, 
• Specialist women’s services to gain a support worker to sit with children and help them work through their experiences. 

Half of these 500 new community sector workers will be located in rural and regional communities. 

This is part of Labor’s ongoing commitment to tackling the scourge of domestic violence. It builds on our promise to invest $100 million in crisis accommodation and build 4,000 homes for women and children fleeing violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness. 

Over the past 8 years, Coalition governments have failed to take this task seriously. 

Not enough workers are funded. 

It’s past time to stop just talking about it – and elevate women’s safety to a national priority. 

This is why, an Albanese government will establish a new Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner. The Commissioner will: 

• Act as an advocate for victim-survivors. 
• Work with States and territory organisation to ensure we have the data we need to invest resources where they will make the most difference. 
• Help co-ordinate key national frameworks so safety and access to services doesn’t depend on where you live. 
• Provide accountability and transparency by measuring progress against the National Plan and delivering a yearly report. 

We know this is just the beginning. Labor is committed to action and bringing down the rates of violence in our communities.