Strict eligibility requirements for leaving abuse payment leaves victims vulnerable or in poverty

by CHRISTINE LAI

Crisis services report that vulnerable women are facing delays of up to nine months to receive the federal government’s recently funded leaving violence payment.

On Wednesday, the government revealed a comprehensive package allocating almost $1 billion to provide financial support for women leaving violent relationships. Under the ‘leaving violence’ payment scheme, women seeking refuge from violent domestic situations would have access to financial support amounting to $5000.

However, criticism of the government’s response to the escalating gendered violence crisis has emerged, citing the long delay before victims of domestic violence can access the payment, and the lack of financial security for victims.

Despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commitment to “act with urgency” in combating violence against women and children definitively, his nearly billion-dollar investment won’t commence for another 14 months.

In Australia this year, 26 women have lost their lives to violence, a rate of one death every four days, as reported by the advocacy group Destroy the Joint’s initiative, Counting Dead Women.

The rising financial toll on victim-survivors

In 2017, research conducted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) revealed that victim-survivors typically spend an average of $18,000 and 141 hours to disengage from a violent relationship.

Seven years since the ACTU’s report, the financial toll of leaving an abusive relationship has likely increased further.

Expenses such as legal fees, housing costs, and mental health services have continued to rise, amplifying the financial burden on victim-survivors. Additionally, the ongoing cost of living pressures, coupled with inflationary trends, exacerbate the challenges faced by those seeking to break free from abusive situations. $5000 is simply not enough.

According to Monash University Business and Economics Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, financial insecurity remains a significant obstacle for victim-survivors contemplating leaving abusive relationships.

“The leaving violence program is one piece of the puzzle but it’s critical that it is implemented alongside increased funding for the range of wrap-around supports that victim-survivors so desperately need at the point of leaving an abuser,” she said.

“We need to ensure that the specialist support sector is funded to provide the critical safety supports … and that we have available housing for victim-survivors who should not have to choose between living with an abuser or homelessness.”

Tanya Whitehouse AOM, manager of the Macarthur Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, highlighted the significant obstacles faced by many women in dangerous situations when trying to access the emergency payment.

“One of my caseworkers had a client 12 months ago who took nine months to get her EVP sorted,” Whitehouse stated as reported by The Australian.

“We currently have another one with a current application where we did a support letter in November 2023 and she is still not finalised”, she added.

Call for cash assistance in domestic violence payments

CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Delia Donovan emphasised that the payment should be entirely in cash, rather than the current split between cash and controlled spending.

Under the current arrangement, $1,500 is provided in cash, while $3,500 is allocated to a caseworker to facilitate services.

“Victim survivors need to know that they can instantaneously get that payment and that the turnaround time to get that payment is fast and that its cash”, Donovan said.

As the payment is restricted to those fleeing a violent partner, victim-survivors attempting to escape an abusive family member or caregiver do not qualify.

However, the payment will now be extended to individuals on temporary visas, a group previously excluded from eligibility during the pilot phase.

Limited funding and permanency concerns

According to Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, fewer than half of the applicants for the government’s escaping violence payment were granted funding.

“This payment is specifically for leaving an intimate partner relationship, that is not currently looked at as being expanded. This is an important part of the system, but not the only part of support in the system”, she told The ABC.

While the payment will be adjusted for inflation next year, the increasing cost of living has diminished its value by approximately $740 since its inception.

Rishworth declined to comment on whether the government would consider raising the baseline figure.

“We’ve made this payment permanent, there was no money in the budget for this payment to continue.”

“It was due to end on the 30th of June because the previous government had made it only temporary”, she said.

The Leaving Violence program will be open for applications from July 2025.