All women and children deserve safety, no matter what visa status
Australia is facing a gender-based and domestic and family violence crisis. On average, one woman is killed every week by a current or former intimate partner.
There is a funded national plan to end violence against women and children within a generation, but it does not fully meet the needs of everyone affected.
Temporary migrants, including people seeking asylum, international students and partner visa holders, face extra barriers when they try to get safety, support and justice. These barriers are not properly addressed in national or state strategies. When visa status blocks access to life-saving support, victim-survivors can be left in dangerous and sometimes life-threatening situations.
We are asking for all temporary visa holders experiencing domestic and family violence to be given access to Homes NSW's Rent Choice Start Safely payment package. This package provides short-to-medium-term financial support to help people escaping domestic violence secure housing in the private rental market.
Right now, temporary migrants cannot access this support because they are not eligible for social housing, which is tied to eligibility for the program. Access to safe and secure housing is critical to recovery.
Survivors and the organisations that support them have said this change would make a real difference.
This proposal is also supported by organisations working with asylum seekers, homelessness and domestic violence.
We cannot yet influence federal migration policy, so we are focusing on a change the NSW Government can make now.
We are:
- building support through research, relational meetings and engagement with people with lived experience, allies and experts.
- giving the NSW Government the opportunity to act on its own Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035, which recognises that people on temporary visas, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, people with complex needs and women face higher risks of homelessness.
This change would help the NSW Government move closer to its goal of ending violence against all women and children within a generation.
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