Ahead of the Women's Safety Ministers meeting today, Greens Leader Larissa Waters wrote to the Ministers calling for immediate, funded action to stop the rising death toll from domestic, family and sexual violence.
The letter asks Ministers to commit to immediate action on four urgent priorities: housing, policing, alcohol and gambling, and consistent national data.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data shows people experiencing violence make up 40% of homelessness service clients. Specialist Homelessness Services are at capacity and are turning away roughly 350 requests for help each day - violence is a major driver of that demand.
More than one woman a week is being killed in domestic and family violence incidents. Yet the Queensland Police Service has announced plans to disband a specialist DFV case-management unit, weakening critical frontline capacity.
Recent deaths, including the alleged murder of Sophie Quinn, underline the need for early intervention, trauma-aware policing and coordinated responses.
After the Commonwealth's Rapid Review of Prevention Responses, all states and territories promised reviews of alcohol regulation to reduce harm and gendered violence. More than 12 months on, no laws have changed and gambling reforms to limit advertising and reduce poker-machine concentration in vulnerable areas have stalled.
The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner has called for consistent jurisdictional monitoring and a national funding map. The sector has long demanded statewide data on service demand so governments can track unmet need and target resources.
As stated by Leader of the Australian Greens, Larissa Waters:
"These Ministers are responsible for women's safety. They cannot keep tinkering while at least eight women have already been murdered in 2026 and 52 were killed last year.
"We are midway through the first action plan under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, yet violence remains far too frequent.
"Policing responses are inconsistent, frontline services are underfunded, and little is being done to address housing and economic insecurity or the harms caused by alcohol and gambling.
"Women cannot leave a violent relationship without somewhere safe to go. We need immediate investment in crisis and emergency accommodation, public housing, and tenancy rules that let victim-survivors leave unsafe homes without penalty.
"Queensland's move to cut specialist DFV case-management is the wrong direction - those units need reinvestment, not dismantling. Women need to be supported to report to police, knowing that risks to their lives will be taken seriously.
"All officers across the country must receive mandated, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate DFV training, and police and frontline services must share systems to monitor high-risk perpetrators.
"It has been more than a year since governments agreed alcohol and gambling worsen violence, yet nothing has changed. When young men were killed by violence on a night out, governments responded immediately. Yet when women are killed it's all talk and no action. All States and Territories committed to act, now they need to stare down the alcohol and gambling lobby and just do it.
"We still lack a clear picture of the scale of violence or how it's being addressed. Consistent data and a national funding map are essential so governments can identify gaps and allocate enough funding to make sure no one seeking help is turned away.
"The only acceptable outcome of the Women's Safety Ministers' meeting is a commitment to immediate, funded action on these issues - anything less risks more lives."
