Ms BADGER – Minister, like you, I’ve read the latest Our Watch report that came out in the last couple of days and particularly how it talks about what more we can do in the primary prevention space. I’m wondering if you could outline for us what proportion of the state’s total family, domestic and sexual violence funding is specifically going towards primary prevention of family and domestic violence, and what portion is going to primary prevention of sexual violence?
Ms HOWLETT – I thank the member for her question. Would you like me to table the report as well for the members?
Ms BROWN – That’s a fantastic idea, yes.
Ms HOWLETT – Could I get the report tabled, please?
The Tasmanian government is firmly committed to the primary prevention of violence against women and children and recognises the critical role of Our Watch in advancing this work. Primary prevention is the foundation pillar of our national and state‑level strategies to end violence against women and children, and we are committed to evidence‑informed, whole‑of‑population approaches that deliver measurable long‑term impacts.
Tasmania is proud to partner in a five‑year agreement with Our Watch from 23 June 2022, which marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to prevention. Through this unique partnership, a dedicated Our Watch senior adviser position is based in Tasmania, providing expert advice to the Department of Premier and Cabinet on family and sexual violence policy, and, of course, women’s policy. The 2025‑26 work plan included activities that contribute to the ongoing implementation of Survivors at the Centre actions and informs priorities related to the Our Watch partnership. The government continues to work in partnership with Our Watch to deliver on the commitments under Tasmania’s Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan, which includes primary prevention across the key initiatives, and the collaboration essential to progressing current activities such as workplace equality, respectful relationships, education and community‑based prevention. Through this sustained partnership, we’re not only addressing immediate priorities, but we’re also laying the foundations for lasting change.
We want to stop violence before it starts, and the key initiatives funded through the action plan are respectful relationships and consent education, an early‑intervention program delivered in Tasmanian schools by the Department of Education, Children and Young People; MENS behavioural change, Men Engaging New Strategies programs for men who have hurt or abused their partners, ex-partners and are ready to take responsibility, and that’s delivered by Relationships Australia; perpetrator programs operated through referral from magistrates as a condition on a family violence order; and mandated behavioural change programs delivered through community corrections as well. Then, of course, we have the Tasmanian Women’s Strategy as well, and the government acknowledges that greater inequity is a key driver of family violence and considers the women’s strategy to be a key part of the prevention approach for Tasmania as well.
Ms BADGER – I will draw you to the actual question, minister, which is around the funding stream. Specifically in dollar figures, how much is going towards prevention of family and domestic violence and, separately, sexual violence?
Ms HURWORTH – I can’t provide a global figure because the way that prevention activity works is that it isn’t all directly related to family and sexual violence. If I use RRE as an example, respectful relationships education, that covers family and sexual violence; it covers preconditions to prevent violent behaviour occurring in the first place like attitudes and gender attitudes. It’s partly funded out of funding under our action plan. It also receives Commonwealth funding. It receives funding through curriculum. There are many different funding sources that are used in the prevention space.
In terms of what Our Watch says in its report about prevention, all states and territories and the Commonwealth are acknowledging that we have to do a lot more in the prevention space than we have done to date, and not only attitude‑type prevention programs, but specifically looking at perpetration. Moving into the next phase of the government’s action plans, we will be looking at perpetration as a key area.
CHAIR – Ms Johnston.
Ms BADGER – I’ve only asked one question which wasn’t answered. My second question, which is not on the funding –
CHAIR – Sorry, Tabatha. No. Ms Johnston.
Ms BADGER – Minister, in the next gender budget, it has been asked by the sector a few times, I’ve written to you about this as well – and I appreciate and acknowledge that you have responded and been open to it. However, I draw you to the importance of having it set out. I appreciate your previous answer that it’s not a clear figure but, setting out roughly what investment is going into the four pillars of the Family Violence Action Plan, will you commit to endeavouring to do that in the next budget? Will the department establish a separate prevention funding stream in the next budget, which would align with the Change for Children reforms and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022‑2032?
Ms HOWLETT – I thank the member and I know Courtney would like to add to the comment. It will be a discussion I will be having when we next meet nationally, as ministers for Women and Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence.
Ms HURWORTH ‑ We are about to enter into an evaluation period of the current plan but we are going to do it for all the plans, for the last 10 years. That will look both at program evaluation but it is also going to be looking at the total investment across government in family and sexual violence prevention, response, recovery and healing. So, aligned not with the pillars in our strategy, but with the public health streams in the national plan.
Some of you will be aware that Closing the Gap has a similar requirement for how the government funds services to Aboriginal people. We will be doing a similar forensic exercise, looking at direct and indirect funding under those streams of the national plan. That will form part of our evaluation which will then inform the new plan and investment into the new plan.
I’m not sure that it will be ready for the May budget. This plan goes to 2027, at which point we would look at all the investment across the current plan and whether the government wants to make changes to that investment. That evaluation, which includes the budgetary and investment component, will be a key feature of that.
Ms BADGER – Great. Just a point of clarity before I move on to my second question, are you ruling out any kind of more specific breakdown in this forthcoming budget? Or is there something, minister, that we could have? It is something the sector needs, and it’s good to have that transparency for Tasmanians to see where the investment is going.
Ms HOWLETT – I’m happy to take that on notice and have that discussion with with Treasury and the Treasurer.
Ms BADGER – Thank you, minister. My second question is, after the 2024 election, it was within the 100‑day plan, 200‑day plan, 300‑day plan, et cetera, for a review of the Family Violence Act. Are you progressing that? Or can you give us any update on what’s happening in that space, if it is indeed still happening in this term?
Ms HOWLETT – That’s a very important question. I believe the Family Violence Act has been updated again to reflect the new forms of harm, community expectations and the evidence on what keeps people safe. Recent reforms have improved evidence rules, court practices, stealthing protections, electronic monitoring and repeat offender accountability.
The next phase of work focuses on accuracy and safety across the system, including better identification of the predominant aggressor and reducing misidentification.
Tasmania is fully engaged in the national reform agenda through our partnership with the Commonwealth and National Legal and Safety Framework. The Attorney‑General leads the legislative program and my role is to make sure that those reforms translate into safer practices across police, courts and health. But I believe that the discussion paper was released.
Ms HURWORTH – The discussion paper was released yesterday or the day before, which is the first comprehensive review of the Family Violence Act in 23, 24 years.
Ms HOWLETT – It’s a big step.
Ms HURWORTH – My team and the legislative and policy team in the Department of Justice worked on that discussion paper together. Consultation was also held with a range of other services in the sector. The minister and the Attorney‑General released that discussion paper jointly. I encourage people to read that discussion paper. It’s an outstanding discussion paper. It covers a lot of the key issues, things like deepfakes, online abuse, misidentification of the predominant aggressor, systems abuse – all of the really key emerging issues. We will be encouraging our partners in the community sector to make submissions to that review as well.
Ms HOWLETT – I believe that is open until March.
Ms HURWORTH – It is.
Ms HOWLETT – Yes. I’d certainly encourage as many people as possible to put submissions into that discussion paper.
Ms BADGER – Yes. Thank you for the generous timeframe.
