Domestic and family violence (DFV) is Australia's most significant driver of homelessness, injury, and death for women. On average, one woman is killed by a current or former partner every eight days in Australia. One in six women and one in sixteen men have experienced physical or sexual partner violence since age 15. The DFV sector is predominantly government-funded through state crisis and housing systems, but philanthropic investment fills critical gaps in prevention, specialist services, and innovation.
Statistics
- 1 in 4 women experience partner violence during their lifetime
- Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children
- Police respond to a DFV incident every two minutes
- Children are present in over half of DFV incidents
- DFV costs Australia an estimated $26 billion per year (economic, health, and criminal justice costs)
Understanding family violence
Family violence encompasses:
- Physical violence
- Sexual violence
- Emotional and psychological abuse (controlling behaviour, gaslighting, threats)
- Financial abuse
- Stalking
- Technology-facilitated abuse
- Spiritual and cultural abuse
- Elder abuse within family settings
Coercive control — patterns of controlling behaviour — is increasingly recognised as the core dynamic, even when physical violence is absent.
Commonwealth
State and territory
States are primary funders of DFV services:
- Emergency crisis accommodation and refuge funding
- Specialist DFV services (case management, safety planning)
- Family violence courts
- Legal aid (for DFV matters)
- Perpetrator programmes (Behaviour Change Programmes)
- Children's services (recovery programmes for children who witnessed DFV)
Paul Ramsay Foundation
Has invested significantly in DFV systemic change — including Safe and Equal (Victoria's peak DFV body) and evidence-based reform.
Macquarie Group Foundation
DFV financial safety, economic empowerment for survivors.
Westpac Foundation
Financial abuse and economic empowerment post-DFV.
Good2Give and corporate DFV philanthropy
Many corporate foundations fund DFV services:
- Banking industry (financial abuse focus)
- Tech sector (technology-facilitated abuse)
- Real estate and housing sector (access to safe housing)
- Legal sector (access to legal support)
Community foundations
State and regional community foundations fund local DFV services.
Crisis and refuge
Emergency accommodation for women and children fleeing violence:
- Women's refuges and crisis accommodation
- 24-hour crisis lines (1800RESPECT)
- Hospital-based DFV response
- Police liaison programmes
Specialist support services
Beyond crisis, women need ongoing support:
- DFV case management and safety planning
- Court support and legal advocacy
- Counselling and trauma-informed therapy
- Financial counselling and economic recovery
- Immigration support (visa status complicated by DFV)
- Interpreter services
Children's programmes
Children who witness DFV are affected — specific funding covers:
- Therapeutic programmes for children post-DFV
- School-based trauma support
- Play therapy and expressive therapies
- Parenting support for survivors
Perpetrator programmes
Behaviour change programmes for perpetrators:
- Men's Behaviour Change Programmes (MBCP)
- Mandated programmes (through courts)
- Voluntary programmes
- Aboriginal-specific programmes (culturally adapted)
Prevention
Preventing DFV before it occurs:
- Schools-based respectful relationships education
- Bystander programmes
- Primary prevention campaigns
- Community education and awareness
Technology-facilitated abuse
Growing area:
- Technology safety planning
- Device safety checks
- Social media abuse response
- Stalkerware detection
First Nations DFV
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience DFV at disproportionate rates — requiring:
- Aboriginal community-controlled DFV services
- Culturally safe refuge and support
- Cultural considerations (land, family, community connections)
- Intersectionality (DFV + child protection + housing)
LGBTIQA+ DFV
DFV occurs in same-sex and gender-diverse relationships — specialist services required:
- LGBTIQA+-specific refuge options
- Non-heteronormative safety planning
- Services that don't make assumptions about gender roles
Trauma-informed practice
All DFV applications must demonstrate trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches. Deficit framing (victims as broken) is inappropriate — emphasise survivor agency and safety planning.
Safety planning
Show how your programme manages safety — DFV work involves significant risk for both workers and clients. Funders need assurance about safety protocols.
Cultural safety
DFV for First Nations, CALD, and LGBTIQA+ communities requires specific cultural competency. Show genuine cultural consultation and community partnership.
Perpetrator accountability
Increasingly, funders want to see perpetrator accountability — not just victim support. Applications that address the perpetrator (either through behaviour change or accountability systems) complement victim support and are viewed more systemically.
Children as primary clients
Children affected by DFV are often not explicitly named — make children's recovery and safety explicit in applications, not just as incidental beneficiaries.
Long-term support
DFV recovery is long — crisis services are important but so is longer-term support. Applications addressing sustained recovery (18+ months post-crisis) are often underfunded relative to emergency response.
Tahua's grants management platform supports DFV funders and family violence organisations — with programme participant tracking, outcome measurement across the DFV continuum, safety data management, and the reporting tools that help family violence funders demonstrate their contribution to safer families across Australia.