The NSW Liberal-Nationals Government has boosted critical support services for thousands of domestic violence victim-survivors with the funding of 39 new refuges across the state.
Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest welcomed the new refuge to be delivered by Third Sector Australia in the Tweed Shire and said once delivered, the new refuge will scale up vital support for women and children in Tweed.
“These homes increase our capacity to provide safe, private, and independent living spaces for victim survivors and their children,” Mr Provest said.
“I don’t want a single person in the Tweed electorate to be harmed by domestic and family violence, but until we can remove this scourge from our society, it is crucial we have supports in place for victims.
“These new refuges are funded through the largest investment in domestic and family violence supports in NSW history and will provide long-term infrastructure to support women and children escaping domestic and family violence.”
Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward said the new refuges delivered under the NSW Government’s Core and Cluster program follows trials in Orange and Griffith.
“These 39 new refuges will be designed in the new Core and Cluster model which is an innovative model that provides independent living and access to critical services such as counselling, legal assistance and further education,” the Minister said.
“Additionally, we have doubled funding for capacity building projects, from $2.2 million to $4.4 million, to support service providers in the delivery of focused and culturally sensitive domestic and family violence services.”
This project forms part of the $484.3 million fund announced in October 2021 to establish new Women’s Refuges in NSW.