; Advocacy - Family and Domestic Violence Support and Accommodation - City of Wanneroo
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Advocacy - Family and Domestic Violence Support and Accommodation

What do we need?

People who are experiencing family and domestic violence (FDV) have immediate access to safe accommodation for themselves and their dependents, and the necessary support services to maintain a safe and secure future. Specifically, what is required is State and/or Federal funding to establish, operate and maintain within the City of Wanneroo:

  • Supported crisis accommodation, short term refuge accommodation and medium-term transitional accommodation services
  • A FDV One Stop Hub providing support and wrap-around services located in the northern suburbs of the City of Wanneroo
     

Key Issues

Rising rates of family and domestic violence

The City of Wanneroo (the City) is one of the fastest growing local government areas (LGA) in WA, in 2024 the City’s resident population is 235,994 people and is forecast to reach 437,016 by 20461. Couples with children make up 39% of households; 7% higher than Greater Perth. Changing economic factors such as housing shortages and the cost of living are highlighting concerns around increasing risk factors for, and incidents of, family and domestic violence.

2023-24 WAPOL statistics for FDV offences for the City show 1,484 offences recorded for assault (Family), 296 for threatening behaviour (family) and 1,001 for breach of violence restraint order2. This equates to nearly 3.5 offences being recorded daily, noting this does not capture all FDV incidents as nearly half go unreported. Data provided by the Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre (NSCLC) show 32.5% of their clients in 2023-2024 who were resident in the City sought consultation for FDV.

Services unable to meet demand

Service providers have advised that there is a high demand for local FDV services which they are unable to meet with current resourcing.

The Patricia Giles Centre for Non-Violence (PGCNV) is the lead agency for the north corridor and provides 24/7 crisis accommodation in a suburb in Perth’s northwest region but outside the City of Wanneroo. This has capacity for four families with a maximum intended stay of 48 hours; the average client is a mother and three children. The PGCNV also operates short-term refuge accommodation within the City. Services are highly overextended with an average of 2 referrals a week and daily phone calls, often needing to refer clients to Crisis Care due to their inability to accommodate them. For every client taken into the refuge seven to eight are turned away.

There are currently gaps in availability of local behavior change programs for low to medium risk perpetrators who choose to use violence and for services for children impacted by FDV. Anglicare WA, in partnership with Communicare, deliver Connect and Respect, a court-mandated, behaviour change program in Joondalup. Anglicare WA service data shows that this region has the greatest number of referrals in metropolitan Perth.  In 2023, Anglicare WA in Joondalup worked with 153 mandated offenders and 257 victim survivors.

To address a lack of children’s services, Anglicare WA redirected reserves to fund their Young Hearts Children’s Counselling Program for victim-survivors of FDV. In 2023-2024, the Program supported 88 children and held 370 sessions, with clients accessing this service from as far as Yanchep. There is currently insufficient funding for the Young Hearts children’s counselling program to meet community demand.
 

Alignment to State / Federal Priorities

The Commonwealth Government’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, Action 10, identifies measures to improve access to short-term and long-term housing for women and children experiencing violence. Under the Plan an investment of $480 million over 6 years was allocated to address FDV, including $100 million to extend the Safe Place program for emergency accommodation for women and children escaping violence. Under the National Partnership Agreement, the State Government received $19 million in Commonwealth funding for 500 FDV community workers.

Priorities under the The Path to Safety: Western Australia’s WA Strategy to Reduce Family and Domestic Violence 2020- 2030 include ensuring victim-survivors and their dependents have immediate access to place-based FDV services and connecting perpetrators with interventions to support accountability and behaviour change. The Strategy identifies Aboriginal women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, amongst others, as being at greater risk of FDV3. The City’s population is diverse with 40% born overseas and 2% identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (increasing to 4-5% in some suburbs), highlighting the need for culturally appropriate services tailored to diverse needs.

Role of the City of Wanneroo

The City of Wanneroo’s role is to provide localised data and other relevant information, act as a connector for local organisations and stakeholders and advocate in partnership with others.

The State Government’s role is to provide land and/or facilities, fund and maintain suitable facilities, fund ongoing operations and appoint provider/s to deliver the required services.
 

Alliances

  • WA Police Joondalup District
  • Western Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS)
  • WA Department of Communities Joondalup District
  • Patricia Giles Centre for Non-Violence
  • Anglicare WA
     

Current status

Existing services are at capacity and insufficient funding has been committed to meet the level of demand in this region. There is no identified City-managed Crown land that would meet the size and location required for the facilities. There has been no commitment to a FDV One Stop Hub in the northern suburbs of the City of Wanneroo despite significant funding commitments to FDV across WA.
 

Expected costs

An estimated $10m building costs for construction of for-purpose designed supported crisis accommodation, short term refuge accommodation and medium-term transitional accommodation services and ongoing operational funding commitment of $1.5m per annum.

An estimated $14.2m to commission a FDV One Stop Hub in the City of Wanneroo.
 

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What is required?

Supported crisis accommodation, additional short-term refuge accommodation and medium-term transitional accommodation services are required within the City to support victim-survivors and their dependents.

A range of integrated support services are also required for this growing community, ideally provided through a one stop hub in the City’s outer northern suburbs, such as the FDV Hub service model. This would enable place-based support for families and delivery of local programs and integrated support services. The FDV Hub should include a behavior change program offered offsite. Perpetrators requiring court mandated behaviour change programs and those voluntarily seeking this service are unable to access this locally, creating risk of non-attendance and commitment to the program.

The State Government has allocated funds, via previous election commitments, to FDV Hubs in Kalgoorlie, Mirrabooka, Broome and Armadale. In 2023, further investment went towards women’s refuges in Mirrabooka and in an inner-city location. While the State Government has announced $422 million for a range of FDV measures since 2021-22, with $94.6 million funding allocated in the 2024-2025 budget, none of the additional planned facilities and services are in the northwest sub-region of Perth. Allocation of funding to services in this region is desperately needed to deliver critical services to the City’s large and growing population.


ID population forecast
WA Police Crime Statistics retrieved from https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/western-australia-police-force/crime-statistics

3 Government of Western Australia, Department of Communities, Path to Safety, Western Australia's strattegy to reduce family and domestic violence 2020-2030, p.19