Yvette Berry MLA

Deputy Chief Minister

Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development
Minister for Housing and Suburban Development
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family
Violence
Minister for Sport and Recreation
Minister for Women

Member for Ginninderra

6 June 2019

ACT Government to improve supports for children and young

people experiencing domestic and family violence
Yesterday the ACT Government released a response to the Domestic Violence Prevention Council Extraordinary
Meeting on children and young people 2018 accepting all of the recommendations from the report.

In April 2018 the Domestic Violence Prevention Council convened an Extraordinary Meeting to better understand the key
issues for children and young people affected by domestic and family violence, including sexual violence.

While it is widely acknowledged that children and young people can be profoundly impacted by this violence, it was
identified that there are still gaps in the ACT’s response to children and young people and that practical measures could be
taken to improve existing supports.

A report from this meeting was released in October 2018 which identified two key insights: that children are often
‘invisible’ in the ACT’s domestic and family violence system and that children who experience domestic and family
violence require specific supports, in addition to the supports required for the adults around them.

This report recommended action in five priority areas to further the ACT Governments capacity to understand and
respond effectively to the needs of children and young people impacted by this violence. The government has accepted all
of the recommendations and has provided practical steps for how these recommendations can be actioned.

All children and young people in the ACT have a fundamental right to feel safe and protected in their community.
Implementation of the initiatives outlined in the response will ensure that children and young people are given equal
status in consideration of domestic and family violence and that policies and programs are redesigned to cater specifically
for the impacts of their trauma.

The government response has been developed with careful consideration of the strong legal and policy context
supporting the rights of children and young people in the ACT. The response details the specific initiatives that will be
undertaken across government to deliver on the recommendations in the Domestic Violence Prevention Council’s final
report.

The Family Safety Hub and the Children and Young Peoples Commissioner are working in partnership to deliver a ‘listening
and learning’ project that will focus on listening to, and understanding, the diverse experiences and needs of children and
young people affected by domestic and family violence.

This will ensure the voices of children and young people are at the centre of our work to improve the ACT service system’s
capacity to respond to children and young people’s needs.

The ACT Government remains committed to tackling domestic and family violence in partnership with the community.
The $24 million Safer Families package announced through the 2019-20 ACT Budget provides for a number of new
initiatives to focus on delivering family-centred responses to violence, reducing the risk of and impacts of domestic and
family violence, extending support services and investing in training ACT Government frontline workers to respond to
family violence.

A copy of the response can be found at https://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/safer-families and the DVPC report
from the Extraordinary Meeting 2018 can be found at http://www.dvpc.org.au/dvpc-extraordinary-meeting-report-
2018/

Statement ends

Media contact:
Megan Cursley T (02) 6207 1653 M 0435 960 505 Megan.Cursley@act.gov.au