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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Multi-million dollar family violence prevention cuts 'indefensible'

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Queensland's Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Minister, Amanda Camm, defended significant funding cuts to prevention programs.
  • The state budget shows a reduction of nearly $40 million for DFV prevention compared to the previous year.
  • Opposition figures called the cuts "indefensible" and urged the government to reverse them, while the Police Minister stated frontline services funding remains unchanged.

Queensland's Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Minister, Amanda Camm, has defended substantial cuts to the state's DFV prevention funding, which total nearly $40 million less than the previous year. Budget papers reveal that while $379.2 million was allocated for 2025-26, only $356.5 million was spent, and the allocation for 2026-27 is set at $340.7 million.

That funding and those actions were not frontline.

— Amanda CammExplaining that the reduced funding was for specific, time-limited recommendations, not ongoing frontline services.

Minister Camm stated that the reduced funding was for a "specific" and "time-limited" recommendation from the women's safety and justice taskforce that had been "delivered." She clarified that this particular funding was not for "frontline" services. Camm asserted that all 277 recommendations from the taskforce's 2021 and 2022 reports are now integrated into the state government's DFV strategy, citing the successful implementation of coercive control legislation as an example.

We came to office, and we delivered upon the coercive control legislation. It is now law.

— Amanda CammHighlighting a key achievement related to the women's safety and justice taskforce recommendations.

However, the Labor opposition has strongly criticized the cuts. Opposition leader Steven Miles described the funding reduction as "cruelly cut" and demanded the government reverse its decision. Shadow Women Minister Shannon Fentiman labeled the cuts "indefensible," expressing disbelief that funding for supporting women and children escaping violence would be reduced in 2026. She also raised concerns about the implementation status of recommendations from the taskforce's final report, which was handed down in late 2024.

We are currently on track to do so.

— Amanda CammResponding to a question about the delivery of all taskforce recommendations.

Police Minister Dan Purdie countered the opposition's claims, asserting that funding for "frontline DV services" has not decreased. The debate highlights a significant disagreement over budget priorities and the effectiveness of current government strategies in addressing domestic and family violence in Queensland.

They should reverse the cuts that they made to domestic and family prevention services.

— Steven MilesUrging the government to reinstate the funding.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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