Every day, PSA CPSU NSW members confront a rising social problem that leaves thousands of people in NSW, mainly women and children, subjected to violence and even murder.

Domestic violence (DV) is on the rise in NSW. Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) numbers show DV‑related assault rates have climbed over the past 10 years, with 2024 a particularly grim 12 months. That year, nearly half of murders recorded by NSW Police were DV-related.

NSW Police claims it receives a DV-related phone call every three minutes.

The numbers, sadly, do not reflect the true scale of the problem, given chronic under‑reporting and the private nature of coercive control.

The PSA CPSU NSW is campaigning to create awareness of domestic violence, and the role its members play in ridding the state of this scourge.

Already, the lobbying has taken effect. After pressure from unions such as the PSA and multiple community organisations, the State Government is increasing its efforts to combat DV. When the state declares a “whole‑of‑government” response, the headlines often gravitate to policing blitzes and bail reforms. But in NSW, the fight against DV is the role of multiple public sector agencies. These tasks are performed by Champions of the State whose efforts rarely make the evening news.

The Government is looking beyond handcuffs and courtrooms in a strategy to minimise DV’s effect on the state, with an example of what to do right in Sydney’s western suburbs.

“We have an excellent example of what the government can do at the Mount Druitt Family Violence Service,” said PSA CPSU NSW General Secretary Stewart Little. “This service offers a one-stop government-run umbrella service to women and children escaping violence in the home.”

The centre has twice come under threat.

In 2024, plans emerged to transition the Mount Druitt Family Violence Service from a government-led model to one run by non-government organisations.

Mr Little took immediate action, calling the relevant ministers and within hours this disastrous decision was reversed.

The centre was again threatened with closure in 2025, and it again took pressure from the PSA to keep it operating.

“In regional NSW, which experiences higher rates of domestic violence, the absence of a government-run model in the Mount Druitt mould is particularly acute,” said Mr Little.

Better coordination of approaches to DV, such as the Mount Druitt centre, will make the state safer.

Dilsat Seyis (pictured next page), who works at the Mount Druitt facility, describes it as an “information referral centre”. 

“We get clients calling us looking for options when dealing with DV,” she said. “They will get information on violence orders, housing, income support, options for children and information on law courts.

“Sometimes clients have health issues and we can help them change providers so perpetrators cannot track them.”

Staff at the centre assist victim-survivors develop case plans based on their needs.

“We look at legal and income issues, as well as eSafety: anything the perpetrator can use to track them,” said Ms Seyis.

One of the biggest issues facing people leaving violence in the home is getting a roof over their head. The centre works with clients to see if they are eligible for social or public housing, a rented property or emergency accommodation.

The centre works with all genders leaving violent relationships , as well as younger people who may be receiving abuse from a partner, parent or sibling.

“We also deal with elder abuse,” said Julie Grigoriadis, who also works at the Family Violence Centre. “We also work with grandparents who have kids coming into their care.”

As with many government services, funding can be an issue. Ms Seyis said more public housing would give clients better access to housing: “We can’t get our clients into refuge accommodation”.

With the system so reliant on emergency accommodation in facilities such as motels, those leaving violent relationships often bounce from venue to venue, having to pack clothing and food every few days to move. In many motels, kitchen facilities are inadequate and often parking can be difficult to access.

She adds more funding for Communities and Justice staff at the centre would mean greater attention to individual cases.

Bernadette McMahon is a Senior Child Service Officer Specialist at Homes NSW, dealing with some of the agency’s most complicated cases.

“Usually the first thing people will get is temporary accommodation,” she said. “This is often in local motels, but there is only a certain amount of capacity there.”

Ms McMahon said other tenants in these facilities may have mental health issues.

“We will try to find a vacancy in a refuge, but 99 per of the time there are no vacancies,” she said. “So, they will remain in temporary accommodation. 

“We then give them case plans, which give them instructions on how to get further temporary accommodation. It is here we sometimes lose the DV client, as it is all too hard for people who are not used to dealing with government.

“It often at this stage children complain that they want to go home to their own rooms and friends, so the client goes back to the partner.

“More funding would mean we would be less likely to get to the stage where people escaping violent homes return.”

Ms McMahon said Homes NSW coordinates with NSW Health, Communities and Justice and the Police for “high-end cases”.

“Absurdly, the worse your case, the luckier you are,” she said. “That is because agencies are worried about the perpetrator, but can’t press charges, or they have been bailed, putting the client at risk.

“Clients cannot disengage, or the Department will remove the children.”

Ms McMahon said state-run services are vital in the fight against domestic violence, but more money is needed.

“We need more money for shelters, supporting services and homes to be built,” she said. “Public homes are vital because many of our clients will struggle to find rental accommodation. If they are leaving a private home, they won’t have a rental history, for example.

“We need public housing, even if people are transitioning.”

Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) is a program that aims to remove from the home the person committing violence, rather than leaving the victim‑survivor and children on the street. Victim‑survivors will also receive intensive case management, security upgrades and legal support.

“This is a backstop that keeps a crisis from becoming chronic,” said Mr Little.  

Public sector workers also deal with offenders, breaking habits and addressing the issues that result in people abusing their partners.

“Our Psychologists in the corrective system deal with harrowing cases every shift they work,” said PSA President Nicole Jess. “Often this is dealing with the perpetrators of violence towards partners and children.

“This is vital work, as eventually offenders will be released back into the community. We need them to be better people when they emerge from a custodial sentence.”

Inmates on remand for DV sentences, however, are unlikely to be offered counselling or psychological support while they wait for trail – a period that can often stretch out for many months.

Once cases get to trial, the NSW Government has established safe rooms so victim-survivors do not have to wait in the same area as the people charged with violence towards them. In courthouses, Legal Aid operates the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCAS), which assist with safety planning, information, referrals, case coordination, and hand‑in‑hand court support. There are 27 WDVCAS across NSW.

The Government has also listened to lobbyists such as the PSA and acknowledged that not all DV is physical. February 2026 saw the state’s first conviction for coercive control, with a controlling partner sentenced to two years’ prison. The conviction came after the State Government criminalised intentionally coercive or controlling conduct in intimate partner relationships.

PSA members in NSW Health have devised systems to prevent future harm. In the state’s hospitals and clinics, routine domestic‑violence screening is now mandated for women and girls accessing maternity and child and family services, and for women aged 16 and up in mental health and alcohol and other drug services.

NSW public schools are rolling out Respectful Relationships Education, which equips young people with skills for empathy, consent, and conflict resolution.

The PSA has also lobbied to protect the workers who do so much for all the people of the state. With nearly 430,000 employees, the NSW Government is one of the biggest employers in the southern hemisphere. Since January 1, 2023, all NSW government sector employees, including casuals, have access to 20 days’ paid domestic and family violence leave per year.

That standard exceeds the national minimum of 10 days paid Domestic and Family Violence Leave under the Fair Work Act. The leave gives victim‑survivors time to attend court, secure housing, change schools, and heal, without losing their job.

The PSA CPSU NSW was the vanguard in this initiative, getting the country’s first paid domestic violence leave provisions into an Enterprise Agreement negotiated for members in the University of NSW.

“This proved that our organisation was a national leader in DV Leave,” said the union’s Women’s Industrial Officer Simone Scalmer. “And with the provision picked up by the International Labour Organisation, we are now a world leader.”

Similar provisions exist in Enterprise Agreements covering the union’s non-government membership.

Agencies have since been directed to implement a whole‑of‑government Domestic and Family Violence Workplace Support Policy, which includes safety planning at work, flexible arrangements, discrete payroll and HR practices, and supervisor guidance.

“Our members are there, on the front lines, taking on the scourge of domestic violence that has seen women killed by partners nearly every week,” said Mr Little. “Calling this a crisis is not hyperbole, it is stating a fact.

“Whether it is protecting family members, working with perpetrators or putting in place systems to avoid future violence, you will see our members there, doing the work required.

“Community organisations have their place, but preventing violence in NSW homes is ultimately a role the State Government needs to fill.

“People need to feel safe at home.”

Mr Little said the State Government also needs to improve communication between agencies.

“One of the challenges is getting the information in a timely way,” said a Child Protection Worker operating in Southwest Sydney, Nadia Graham (pictured right).

Ms Graham said the need for the Department of Communities and Justice to formally request enough information to take action, such as removing a child from a violent home, can slow down the process of protecting family members affected by DV.  

“I worked in local courts, then worked as a Case Worker in the DV sphere, and now I work in Child Protection,” she said. “Having worked in all those places, I know the information is there. But the flow of information needs to be streamlined, not only for the children’s safety but for ours.”

Ms Graham said public sector agencies need to work together to address behaviour.

“We can tell a perpetrator to get out of the home, but if we don’t have all the information at hand, it can be hard to keep children safe,” she said. “Some of the limitations we have on services is difficult.”

She gives the example of Homes NSW, which can be called upon to supply emergency accommodation to families leaving a violent home, but “the supply is limited”.

“As Ms Graham points out, it is a raft of public sector agencies that are best equipped to address the DV crisis gripping our state,” said Mr Little.

“From the calls answered by our members in Police, through to the agencies protecting and rehousing those fleeing violent, to those prosecuting and rehabilitating offenders, it is NSW government employees who are best suited to deal with the issues.”

Mr Little shared these sentiments in a letter to Premier Chris Minns, stating, “If NSW is serious about preventing harm, supporting victim-survivors, and holding perpetrators to account, then public sector agencies such as Community Services Child Protection, NSW Police, Homes NSW, Community Corrections, and others, must share responsibility for service delivery. A government-run model provides continuity, accountability, and the systemic coordination required to protect those at risk.”

The PSA is not opposed to community organisations being involved.

“We saw the Federal Government recently allocate funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community groups to address DV,” said Mr Little. “This is welcome news, but the State Governments need funding to ensure assistance offered by community groups is best coordinated and backed up by government-run services.

“Without our members working in well-resourced, more efficiently run State Government agencies throughout the entire state, more people will live in violent, abusive homes.”