Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Caitlin Tough said consultation had revealed shortcomings in the existing model. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT Government will formally abolish its Domestic Violence Prevention Council (DVPC), almost two years after the body set up to advise government on domestic, family and sexual violence stopped operating.
The DVPC has been on hiatus since the 2024 election period and has not resumed meetings. It previously created an avenue for frontline and non-government organisations to provide strategic advice to government on its response to domestic, family and sexual violence.
Now the government plans to replace it with a new governance model, a move that has drawn concern from the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS), which says the replacement mechanism should have been established first.
Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Caitlin Tough introduced the Domestic Violence Agencies Amendment Bill 2026 in the Legislative Assembly, saying the existing legislated model had not provided the flexibility needed to respond to an increasingly complex sector.
The abolition will not take effect immediately. The bill allows up to six months for replacement governance arrangements to be established, although Ms Tough can bring the change into effect earlier through written notice.
“A legislative approach to governance for the domestic family and sexual violence system has not provided the flexibility required to adapt and respond effectively to the evolving and complex DFSV landscape,” she told the Assembly.
Ms Tough said shortcomings in the existing model had emerged through consultation informing the ACT Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Strategy, which involved victim-survivors, the sector, Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, other community organisations and government agencies.
But DVCS Deputy CEO Brooke McKail said the organisation had not known legislation abolishing the council would be introduced last week.
“We were unaware that the bill was being introduced this week to abolish the DVPC, and are disappointed to see it. Especially as it is being done before a new mechanism for consultation and connection with frontline services and victim-survivors is in place,” she told Region.
“The DVPC was put into hiatus before the last election and hasn’t met since. That means there has been no clearly defined way for those with experience of how the family violence system works on the ground to advise the minister on policy reform, decision-making and gaps in service system responses.”
Ms McKail said the sector had been told 12 months ago that the government was seeking to establish a new governance structure, but it had not yet occurred.
“We want the opportunity to work collaboratively with government to make sure the system is responding to the needs of victim-survivors,” she said.
“To do that, they need to hear from victim-survivors, Aboriginal community-controlled services, and services like DVCS, with decades of frontline experience in supporting the community.”
The government has allocated $939,000 in the 2026-27 budget towards the replacement governance model.
Of that, $815,000 over three years will establish a domestic, family and sexual violence sector network focused on advocacy, coordination and workforce development. A further $124,000 will support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group, which currently reports to the DVPC and will instead be elevated to advise the minister directly.
YWCA Canberra CEO Frances Crimmins, however, backed a refreshed approach.
“Given the release of the new ACT Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Strategy 2026-2036 in May of this year, and substantial law reform relating to domestic and family violence, YWCA Canberra supports a refreshed approach to collaboration between the sector, the minister and relevant government agencies,” she said.
The bill also seeks to address the risk of perpetrators using legal processes to obtain sensitive information about victim-survivors.
Ms Tough said the new scheme could result in more agencies holding victim-survivor information received from another organisation, potentially creating additional opportunities for perpetrators to seek records through subpoenas.
“It is a known and material risk that people using violence may use legal processes to gain access to victim-survivors’ sensitive information to control, threaten or harass the victim,” she said.
“I see an unacceptable level of risk to the safety of victim-survivors if we do not address this.”
