Today, Commonwealth, state and territory governments agreed on a pathway to finalise the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–32.
Minister for Women Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher and Minister for Social Services the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP met with state and territory ministerial counterparts to discuss the important issues affecting women in Australia.
State and territory governments gave broad support to the draft National Plan updated by the Albanese Labor Government and agreed to work constructively on the final National Plan to be released by October.
The issues around family, domestic and sexual violence were discussed in detail, including coercive control.
All ministers highlighted their shared commitment to reducing violence against women and children and agreed the current rates of those experiencing violence was unacceptable.
During the meeting, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher also canvassed other Government priorities for women including a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality.
“Today was a productive first meeting where governments agreed on the next steps to advance our common priorities of gender equality, and the safety of women and children,” Minister Gallagher said.
“We know there is strong community support to end violence against women and finalising the National Plan is an important step in making that a reality.
“I look forward to working collaboratively with my state and territory colleagues to improve outcomes for all women in Australia and advance our shared goal of gender equality.”
More data sharing around equality targets was also discussed.
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth praised the collaborative approach to tackling women’s safety issues.
“The National Plan is our national policy framework that describes how we will all work together towards ending violence against women and children over the next 10 years,” Minister Rishworth said.
“It is imperative that all governments are working together to increase coordination of policy responses, build our evidence and data collecting capabilities and improve integration of systems and services. We want a whole of government approach to getting real results in this space.
“One woman dies in Australia every ten days at the hands of their current or former partner. That is unacceptable. The National Plan will set out a strategy for the next decade with the aim of reducing that number.”
During the meeting Ministers also discussed priorities for the newly established Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission. The Commission will play a key role in monitoring implementation and tracking progress against targets under the National Plan.
States and territories shared their views and experiences in implementing jurisdictional gender equality plans and strategies, and welcomed the Government’s commitment to a standalone National Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family safety.
All Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to work together and share information and learnings to improve gender equality and address women’s safety.