Staying Home Leaving Violence

Leaving a violent and abusive relationship can be hard. It may mean having to move to a new area and having to start life over with a new home, new job and new school for the kids.You may also be short on money and not in a good mental health headspace.

These are only some of the reasons why women stay in an abusive relationship. Leaving the situation can be pretty stressful and overwhelming, especially with little or no support.

How the program can help you

The aim of the Staying Home Leaving Violence program is to prevent you and your children becoming homeless or having to move away from your support system of family and friends, and the school and community where you live.

The program works in cooperation with NSW Police to remove the perpetrator (the violent partner) from the family home so that you and your children can stay safely where you are. It provides a range of support, such as safety planning, improving home security, help in managing finances, support for children, and helping you with the complicated legal process.

The providers of the program understand that it's the violent person - your partner or ex-partner - who is responsible for their own abusive behaviour and is committing a crime by hurting you and or your children.

Priority

Women separated from a violent partner but who continue to experience abuse from their ex-partner are a priority for the program. Priority is also given to women who have experienced domestic and family violence before and are:

• from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
• affected by socio-economic disadvantage
• from culturally and linguistically (language) diverse backgrounds
• affected by social exclusion
• who have a disability
• who are caring for a child with a disability
• aged 16 to 18 years - these young people will be referred to a service that can help them.

Program Expansion 2024

In the 2024/25 Budget, the NSW Government committed to provide an additional $245.6 million over four years as part of an emergency package to enhance support for domestic, family, and sexual violence (DFSV) victim-survivors and expand programs that reduce the rate of violence against women and children.

Details of the measures included can be found here.

Funding was provided to expand key programs including:

• $48m to expand the Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) program state-wide and to increase the number of Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Services (IDFVS).
• $48m to secure and increase funding for Specialist workers for Children in refuges. These specialist workers provide tailored support to individual needs including education and mental health.

Specialist Workers for Children and Young People

Contracts have been extended for a further two years to 30 June 2026 for the services currently delivering the Specialist Workers for Children and Young People program, in line with the existing SHS refuge contract timeframes.

A further 10 services have been selected for expansion of this program. The sites are based on the number of Aboriginal children and young people accompanying their mothers to crisis DFV refuges. 

All 31 contracted services will provide support to children and young people through funding made available to 30 June 2026.

Staying Home Leaving Violence

SHLV is an important program that helps women and their children to remain safe in their homes, or home of their choice, after leaving a violent relationship. In 2022, an independent evaluation by the Gendered Violence Research Network at the University of NSW found this program effectively contributes to the long-term safety and housing stability of women and children who have left a violent and abusive relationship.

The program currently covers 91 Local Government Areas. This new funding will be used to extend the program to the remaining 37 Local Government Areas, providing state-wide coverage by May 2025.

Key milestones:

• November 2024 – 13 new LGAs will be covered by extending the reach of existing services and providing additional funds to cover these LGAs.
• April 2025 – 14 new SHLV services will be procured and SHLV will be available across the 128 LGAs. This will be achieved through procurement allowing both the existing and emerging providers an opportunity to apply for funding in these new areas.

Funding for new LGAs has been based on analysis of the demand for Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) services. Rural and remote areas will receive higher funding allocations to account for the higher cost of service delivery. We recognise the importance of resourcing our regional, rural, and remote locations with adequate funding to deliver these important services well.

Procurement opportunities will be released in early October and close in early November 2024. SHLV contracts will be awarded in March 2025 and services will commence soon after.

More information can be found on the NSW Government e-tendering website.

DCJ were invited to discuss the IDFVS and SHLV expansion plans at a DVNSW led forum held 10 September 2024. A copy of the presentation, which includes Local Government Area coverage, can be found at the following link.

DVNSW presentation SHLV and IDFVS expansion - 10 September 2024 (PDF, 1.8 MB) (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Services

There are 11 existing IDFVS services across NSW delivering critical integrated and holistic services for families experiencing DFV.

The Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Service provides important case management helping people to navigate the services of government agencies and non-government organisations. This can include coordinating across police, courts, healthcare, child protection workers, housing providers and women’s refuges. The program works with both victim-survivors who have left a relationship and those who remain, focusing on maximising safety for this group of women and their children, and addressing behaviour of the person using violence.

Core to the response is an integrated whole of family case management approach, which can involve working with a victim-survivor, children and person using violence.

A further 6 services will be funded through this new investment. The services will be located in areas with the highest need, determined by demand, prevalence and service gaps. Procurement opportunities for IDFVS services will be released in February 2025 with contracts awarded in June 2025 and services will commence soon after.

More information can be found on the NSW Government e-tendering website.

Expanding Aboriginal led DFV models of service delivery

Aboriginal women and children experience DFV at higher rates than non-Aboriginal women and children. NSW Government is committed to addressing the needs of Aboriginal Women and children experiencing DFV and know that this best done through the provision of Aboriginal led services.

A proportion of funding has been allocated to the development and co-design of Aboriginal led service models of DFV in key locations. This process builds on the success and lessons from the partnership with the Bourke community, led by the Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly.

We will see more of these excellent examples of co-designed services in three more areas across NSW. More information will be provided about these locations and the co-design approach as the programs progress.

Where there are Aboriginal Services ready and interested to deliver the IDFVS and SHLV service models, our procurement approaches will be tailored to support Aboriginal services to apply for funding in these areas.

Formal Evaluation 2022

In 2022 researchers from The Gendered Violence Research Network at the University of NSW were engaged by the the Department of Communities and Justice to undertake a formal evaluation of the Staying Home Leaving Violence program (PDF, 1.5 MB) (PDF, 1.5 MB). The  report concludes that the Staying Home Leaving Violence program effectively contributes to the long-term safety and housing stability of women and children who have left a violent and abusive relationship.

Program locations

The program helps women and their children who live in the following locations across NSW.

Region	LGAs Covered	Contact
Blue Mountains	Blue Mountains, Lithgow	1800 664 996
Central Coast	Central Coast	1800 324 924
Far West	Broken Hill, Central Darling	08 8088 2520
Far West	Balranald, Wentworth	1800 959 806
Hunter	Maitland, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton	02 4934 2585 Option 1
Hunter	Muswellbrook, Upper Hunter	02 4934 2585 Option 1
Hunter	Lake Macquarie	02 4943 9255
Hunter	Newcastle	02 4926 3577
Hunter	Port Stephens, partial Mid Coast	02 4980 0800
Illawarra Shoalhaven	Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama	1800 FSA 000 1800 372 000 Option 3
Illawarra Shoalhaven	Shoalhaven, Wollongong, Shellharbour	02 4421 7400
Mid North Coast	Mid Coast	02 4979 1120
Mid North Coast	Kempsey, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie - Hastings	02 6562 2272
Mid North Coast	Coffs Harbour, Nambucca Valley, Bellingen	02 6652 6693
Murrumbidgee	Griffith, Narrandera, Leeton, Hay, Bland, Carrathool, Murrumbidgee	02 6964 3381
Murrumbidgee	Wagga Wagga, Junee, Coolamon, Lockhart	(02) 6964 3381
Murrumbidgee	Albury, Greater Hume, Federation, Berrigan, Murray River, Edward River	02 6058 6200 1800 885 355
Murrumbidgee	Cootamundra, Hilltops, Temora	02 6964 3381
Murrumbidgee	Gundagai, Snowy Valleys Regional	02 6964 3381
Nepean / Blue Mountains	Penrith, Hawkesbury	02 4721 2499
New England	Moree Plains	02 6752 8027
New England	Inverell, Glenn Innes, Tenterfield	0417 858 634 0417 786 736
New England	Tamworth Regional, Liverpool Plains	1800 073 388
New England	Armidale Regional, Uralla, Walcha	1800 073 388
New England	Narrabri	02 6792 4900
New England	Gunnedah	02 6742 7038
Northern NSW	Byron, Tweed, Ballina	02 6684 4299
Northern NSW	Richmond Valley, Lismore, Kyogle, Clarence Valley	02 6662 2898
Northern Sydney	Hornsby, Ryde, Hunters Hill	02 9334 0111
Northern Sydney	Northern Beaches, Lane Cove, Ku-Ring-Gai, Mosman, North Sydney, and Willoughby	1800 002 111
South Eastern Sydney	Sutherland Shire	02 9528 2933
South Eastern Sydney	Randwick, Waverly, Bayside LGAs and the following suburbs in Bayside LGA - Banksmeadow, Botany, Daceyville, Eastgardens, Eastlakes, Hillsdale, Mascot, Pagewood, Rosebery	0439 414 673
South Eastern Sydney	Sydney and Inner West LGA suburbs including: Alexandria, Beaconsfield, Camperdown, Chippendale, Darlington, Dulwich Hill, Enmore, Erskineville, Eveleigh, Glebe, Lewisham, Marrickville, Newtown, Petersham, Redfern, Rosebery, St Peters, Stanmore, Sydenham, Tempe, Waterloo, Zetland	02 9699 9036
South Western Sydney	Wingecarribee, Wollondilly	02 9550 9862
South Western Sydney	Liverpool, Bankstown portion of Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield	02 9602 7795
South Western Sydney	Campbelltown, Camden	1800 077 760 02 4633 3777
Southern NSW	Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional	02 6189 4808
Southern NSW	Bega Valley, Eurobodalla	02 6492 6239
Southern NSW	Goulburn Mulwaree, Upper Lachlan Shire, Yass Valley	0427 466 847
Southern NSW	Snowy Monaro Regional	02 6452 3450
Sydney	Canterbury, Burwood	02 9602 7795
Sydney	Georges River	02 9319 4088
Sydney	Canada Bay and Strathfield	02 9602 7795
Western	Oberon	02 6361 4742
Western NSW	Parkes, Forbes, Cowra, Cobar, Lachlan, Weddin	02 4979 1120
Western NSW	Orange, Cabonne, Blayney	1300 384 357
Western NSW	Bathurst	1300 384 357
Western NSW	Mid-Western Regional	1300 384 357
Western NSW	Walgett, Coonamble, Brewarrina, Warrumbungle, Bogan, Warren	02 6829 4352 02 6828 3570
Western NSW	Dubbo Regional, Narromine, Gilgandra	0417 384 723 0499 799 008
Western Sydney	Parramatta, Cumberland, suburbs within The Hills including Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Norwest, North Rocks and part of West Pennant Hills.	02 9636 8437
Western Sydney	Blacktown	02 9677 1962