Half of the 12 new domestic violence hubs, which will make it easier for women leaving abusive relationships to access a range of services in one location, will be based in regional Australia, the attorney general, George Brandis, has announced.
Last week, the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the minister for women, Michaelia Cash, announced a suite of measures worth $100m to tackle sexual and domestic violence.
Nearly $15m of that would go to the Attorney General’s Department for the establishment of the hubs or “hotspots”. The specialist units will bring together lawyers, social workers, health professionals and cultural liaisons like translators, to help survivors of domestic violence.
The money will also include the formation of health and justices partnerships to link healthcare professionals with legal and community services in order to meet the needs of women and children who are fleeing violence.
“When a woman presents to a hospital, for example, having been the victim of domestic violence, she has many needs apart from immediate medical needs – financial counselling, crisis accommodation, legal advice and other needs, and these need to be catered for in a holistic way, so that’s what these programs are designed to do,” Brandis told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
Hospitals and medical centres which are part of the health partnership program will have an onsite lawyer available for victims to access.
The federal government says the domestic violence hotspots will be established in:
- South-west Sydney, New South Wales
- The Dubbo region, New South Wales
- North-east Melbourne, Victoria
- The Mallee region, Victoria
- Priority locations within Brisbane or the Gold Coast, Queensland
- Townsville, Queensland
- North-east Perth, Western Australia
- The Kimberley, Western Australia
- Elizabeth, South Australia
- North-west Tasmania
- Alice Springs, Northern Territory
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
And health partnerships are set to be established in:
- Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Queensland
- North-east Perth, Western Australia
- Elizabeth, South Australia
- Alice Springs, Northern Territory
