- Cook Government commits $7 million over two years to continue Flexible Support Package program
- Program provides an individualised approach to supporting victims of family, domestic and sexual violence
- More than 40 organisations around Western Australia to receive funding
The Cook Government has committed $7 million to provide individualised and flexible funding support to victim-survivors of family and domestic violence in Western Australia.
The Flexible Support Package program provides funding to family and domestic violence organisations across the State to administer direct financial support to victim-survivors.
This support enables victim-survivors to access practical supports to enhance their safety and re-establish their lives such as furniture and household goods or items to meet daily living needs.
More than 40 family and domestic violence sector organisations including Harbour Refuge and Support Services, also known as South West Refuge, will share in the funding which has been allocated over a two-year period.
In recognition of the diverse experiences of family and domestic violence, service providers consider each package based on individual risk and the circumstances of the women and children. There are no restrictions to the package amount provided and funding is determined by the case management plan.
This initiative builds on a previous two-year trial funded via the National Partnership Agreement for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses, which commenced in June 2022.
In addition to housing re-establishment and crisis-related assistance, the program provided women and children with increased access to counselling and wellbeing courses, necessary items for schooling and social connection, and travel or relocation costs.
The initiative forms part of the Cook Government's $72.6 million funding package announced last November to strengthen responses to family and domestic violence in Western Australia, which was informed by the Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce.
Harbour Refuge and Support Services has been providing services to women and children escaping family and domestic violence for more than 30 years.
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Sabine Winton:
"We know that no two experiences of family and domestic violence are the same.
"The kind of individualised supports that one person might need can be different to what another person needs to help re-establish their lives following domestic violence.
"The flexible funding available through this program ensures the needs of victim-survivors are front and centre.
"When I have visited refuges across the State, staff have given me meaningful, practical examples as to how this program has helped women accessing their services.
"One example was a woman who received help to purchase white goods to establish a new home for herself and her family.
"The Cook Government will continue to invest in initiatives that support victim-survivors across Western Australia."
As stated by the Bunbury MLA Don Punch:
"Harbour Refuge, also known as South West Refuge are a trusted, long-standing provider who've been providing domestic violence services in the Bunbury area for over three decades.
"What I really like about the Flexible Support Package program is that it is client-led, giving the victim-survivor a strong voice and returning to them the power over their own lives that may have been compromised during their past experiences of controlling and abusive relationships.
"It isn't a one-size-fits-all approach but about listening to what individual victim-survivors need to help them."
