Victorian State Budget 2026-2027 Announcement

The Victorian Government has reinstated $100 million in funding for the family violence sector.

But it comes as Victorians face a sharp cost-of-living squeeze, persistent inflation, a national housing and homelessness crisis, and unprecedented demand for specialist family violence services.

Put simply, reinstating $100 million is not new investment. In real terms, it amounts to a cut, leaving the sector unable to keep pace with rising demand. Even before this budget, services warned funding was falling far short—forcing programs to be scaled back and, devastatingly, victim survivors to be turned away.

That is not good enough.

Violence against women, children and diverse communities is a national crisis—and addressing it must be a priority for every state and territory government.

Specialist family violence services are on the front line. Yet year after year, we are expected to do more with less.

The Centre for Non-Violence supports thousands of people each year, including victim survivors (adults and children) and adults using violence, through evidence-informed programs and services. With over three decades of experience, we deliver tailored supports that we know work. It is devastating that instead of focusing on safety, wellbeing and better outcomes for our community, we are forced to stretch shrinking budgets—often by curbing or cutting programs.

While the budget speaks to community safety and faster responses to youth offending, it overlooks the prevention and early intervention work that specialist family violence services deliver every day. With proper investment, programs like CNV’s Making aMENds model could operate at full capacity. This father-focused program—first funded by the Department of Justice—combines intensive one-to-one therapeutic accountability with group work to help men using violence reflect, take responsibility and understand the impact of their behaviour on children, helping to break cycles of intergenerational trauma. Due to funding shortfalls and rising demand, the program can now offer only the Men’s Behaviour Change group component. This is what underfunding looks like—and services across Victoria are making decisions based on budgets, not on lives.

“If we’re serious about community safety, we must invest in the specialist services that prevent violence and respond early. Without proper funding, programs that work—like CNV’s Making aMENds—are scaled back, and decisions get made based on budgets, not on lives.” – Margaret Augerinos, CEO, Centre for Non-Violence

A woman is killed every week in Australia as a result of family violence. A child is killed every two weeks. Thousands more victim survivors are navigating daily safety within a system that is surviving on little more than a funding lifeline.

Failing to properly fund essential services fails every Victorian experiencing, or at risk of, family violence.