When Home Isn’t Safe

Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness in Australia; and with soaring rents, low vacancy rates, interest rate rises and housing affordability at an all-time low, we know the situation is only getting harder for women and children seeking safety, wellbeing and a life free from violence.

The choice to stay in a violent relationship, or face homelessness is no choice at all. Yet for people experiencing family violence, it is often one they are forced to make.

Nationally, two in five people facing housing insecurity and requiring specialist housing support were experiencing family violence: 90 per cent of those seeking specialist homelessness support services were women and children.[1]

At CNV, our clients consistently tell us that one of the driving factors that inform their decision-making on whether to leave or stay is the risk of homelessness. In 2023-2024, 40 per cent of CNV clients identified housing as a safety priority.[2]

It is simply unacceptable that our governments have been unwilling to prioritise the investment and legislative needed to keep families in safe and affordable housing.

CNV alone provided 16,944 nights of crisis and emergency accommodation to victim survivors (including children) in 2023-2024. We know that demand is increasing and has significantly outpaced availability of crisis and emergency accommodation.

It is inexcusable that specialist family violence and housing services are forced to turn victim survivors away, including children, from desperately needed housing support, because there is nowhere for them to go.

It is also lamentable that when we speak of ‘crisis accommodation’, what it often means are motel rooms.  With little option but to place those escaping family violence in small, often cramped motel rooms, with little to no access to cooking facilities or any safe spaces for children to play.

Victim survivors require better, and more targeted responses to crisis, emergency and transitional housing. The use of hotels and motels is not a viable, safe or financially sustainable option – and the sector’s over-reliance on the private hotel and motel industry to provide emergency accommodation to some of our most vulnerable community members is simply not appropriate.

Within this context, we must address the gendered drivers of violence against women and girls, children and diverse communities through effective policy and project development.

This requires significant systems change in addressing racism and discrimination. We know that our legal and government systems are not always working towards equality, and to reduce the number of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, we must begin to dismantle barriers to equality and justice through targeted legislative reform.

We know what is needed to improve safety and give victim survivors a real choice to safely leave a violent relationship. At a minimum, this includes:

• At least 83,000 new dwellings for victim survivors over the next 25 years in Victoria;
• Increased investment in specialist family violence and homelessness services;
• An immediate increase to purpose-built crisis accommodation right across the country;
• Targeted prevention to reduce the risk of homelessness for people who are more vulnerable to becoming homeless.

We call on all levels of government to address major drivers of homelessness across the population, including racism and discrimination, the adequacy and security of income support, people’s access to affordable housing and importantly safety and wellbeing.

A safe, affordable, and decent home for our clients is the foundation for a safe, nourished life free from family violence. We know that an absence of safe, affordable housing options increases the likelihood of victim survivors remaining with a violent perpetrator.

A choice between facing homelessness or risking a return to the home of the perpetrator is no choice at all.

Every person should have the right to a safe place to call home.

[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025). Specialist homelessness services annual report 2023–24. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report [accessed: 13 August 2025]

[2] Centre for Non-Violence. (2024). Annual Report 2023-2024. Retrieved from https://www.cnv.org.au/about/publications/ [accessed 13 August 2025]