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A commitment from the federal, state and territory governments to hire hundreds of frontline service and community workers to support people experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence is set to fall well short of the agreed target.
The federal government promised to spend $169.4 million over four years to fund 500 positions. It provided the funding to the states, which are responsible for hiring the workers.
The states and territories said it would fill 352 jobs by June 30 this year. However new figures reveal just 63 staff had been hired across the country by May 31, with Queensland the only state that hadn’t secured any staff.
Of the 63 people hired, 53.4 positions were considered as full time equivalents, which means some of the workers are on part time contracts.
The data comes from the Department of Social Services, which has for the first time released information on how many domestic violence support workers have been hired, after federal government ministers and some state governments previously refused to provide such information.
It shows New South Wales now has six staff employed, while Victoria has 11 and Western Australia has six.
Fifteen staff have been hired in South Australia, 17 in Tasmania and five in the Australian Capital Territory and three in the Northern Territory.
By May 31, Queensland had not hired a single domestic violence support worker under the program.
Speaking in Senate Estimates, Department of Social Services deputy secretary Letitia Hope said the figures were expected to rise over the next few months.
“Just this morning I think there was an announcement there were an additional six [workers] in Queensland,” she said.
“We want to verify that to make sure that is correct, we will continue to publish this information on a monthly basis.”
Ms Hope insisted states were working to find staff and that the Social Services Department had liaised with the different jurisdictions on their progress.
“The states are actually moving at their own rapid pace to do this, they are trying to fulfil their commitments,” she said.
“We do meet with them frequently.”
Responsibility lies with the states
During the 2022 election campaign, Labor committed to make women’s safety a “national priority.”
After it won the election, the government announced plans to spend $169.4 million to ensure 500 frontline service and community workers would be hired.
A joint statement issued in October 2022 from Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth stated the federal government’s commitment would be reached over four years.
“The funding will see 200 new workers employed each year 2022-23 with a further 100 in 2024-25. Funds for these positions will be distributed to states and territories to support them to best target areas of need,” the statement said.
However 19 months after that statement was issued, just 63 people had been hired in frontline roles.
Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Kerrynne Liddle criticised the lack of staff secured.
“It is a pretty go slow appalling result,” she told Senate Estimates.
Senator Tim Ayres, who was representing the Minister for Social Services in Senate Estimates, said he disagreed with the criticism.
“I don’t think it’s correct to say there is a go slow on behalf of the Commonwealth,” he said.
Senator Ayres argued the federal government had completed its part of the deal, which was to deliver funding to the states.
“We have discharged our obligations here in terms of funding, we have heard from the states on this question, they are doing their best,” he said.
“I think we all wish that they had been in a position to recruit more, more quickly.”
“We don’t as a government point fingers…we have provided funding and we are looking to the states to complete their end of the bargaining which is to recruit employees.”
