Rachel called on the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence to extend the ‘Safe at Home’ initiative to the City of Casey. This initiative is currently undergoing a three-year trial in Geelong.
This year, over 7000 family and domestic violence incidents have been reported in Casey to date. Rachel asks for assurance that the Safe at Home initiative can be rolled out in areas of highest need – including the City of Casey – as soon as successfully proven.
Wednesday the 15th of October 2025,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, and the action I seek is for the minister to extend the Safe at Home initiative to the City of Casey.
The Victorian government’s Safe at Home initiative is a three-year trial in Geelong to allow victim-survivors of family violence to stay safely in their home and community while perpetrators are removed and given support to change their behaviour. This initiative will also provide a rapid response to families, with wraparound specialist support in housing, employment and child and cultural support. All too often it is the victims of family violence and their children that are forced to leave their home to escape perpetrators. The current system increases the risk of homelessness and social isolation, with victim-survivors forced to change jobs, take children out of schools and leave communities.
Violence is the main reason women and children leave their home
We know that family violence is the single largest driver of homelessness for women in Victoria. At a time when housing affordability is at crisis levels, the Safe at Home initiative is critical. I know many would like to see a similar initiative trialled in my region of the south-east. In this year alone almost 7000 family violence incidents have been recorded in the City of Casey. Shamefully, this represents the highest number of reports of any Victorian local government area.
While we wait for a three-year trial of the Safe at Home initiative to be completed and to know if it will become permanent or expanded, areas like Casey continue to suffer through a family violence epidemic. Funding an expansion of this initiative to areas of highest need is common sense and recognises that, with an issue like family violence, time is so critical. While I commend the government on trialling innovative and wraparound early intervention support for victim-survivors of family violence, we want to see initiatives like this futureproofed. We need an assurance that these initiatives will be properly funded and quickly scalable to areas of highest demonstrated need as soon as they are successfully proven.
So I ask: will the minister extend the Safe at Home initiative to the City of Casey?
Written response received 11th of December 2025:
I thank the member for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region for her question about extending the Safe at Home initiative to the City of Casey.
The Victorian Government is committed to preventing family violence, supporting victim survivors safe and holding perpetrators to account. This includes a strong focus on supporting women and children who have experienced family violence to remain safely in their home, including through the Safe at Home pilot being trialled in Geelong.
We are focused on understanding the impact of this approach within a single, localised area over time. An evaluation partner has been engaged to undertake an action research evaluation, with early reporting focusing on some of the immediate benefits and intermediate outcomes. The completed evaluation will provide a strong evidence base to inform any future expansion, identifying the critical elements for success.
I acknowledge that time is critical for victim survivors experiencing or witnessing family violence. Existing supports, such as the Personal Safety Initiative, provide victim survivors with access to effective technology and security measures, making staying safely at home a real option. This initiative has been boosted through the Women’s Safety Package, so that flexible funding is available to provide more immediate personal safety supports.
The Women’s Safety Package is also boosting case management for people who use violence to keep them in view, and investing $1.5 million to expand the innovative and effective Alexis Family Violence Response model. The co-responder model, which embeds two specialist family violence workers within Victoria Police Family Violence Investigation Units, provides immediate, coordinated support after serious incidents. This program has a proven track record of improving safety, holding perpetrators to account and supporting long-term behaviour change.
The Orange Door and Safe Steps are the primary entry points for victim survivors seeking support, including children and young people. They can be contacted as below:
- The Orange Door, Monday to Friday during business https://www.orangedoor.vic.gov.au/support-near-you and
- Safe Steps 24/7 on 1800 015 188 or via https://safesteps.org.au/
In the meantime, regular reports on the early learnings and insights on the pilot will be made available via the Safe at Home website: https://www.safeathome.org.au/
The Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP
Minister for Prevention of Family Violence
Related:
> Police responses to family and domestic violence – Rachel Payne
> South-East taskforce needed to stop region’s family violence epidemic – Rachel Payne
> Establish a family violence taskforce – Rachel Payne
> Rise in family violence intervention order breaches – Rachel Payne
External:
> Supporting Victim Survivors To Stay Safe At Home | Premier
