Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion in Parliament recognising the launch of Domestic Violence NSW’s report ‘Engaging lived experience and expertise in domestic violence policy’.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House recognises the launch of Domestic Violence NSW's [DVNSW] report Engaging lived experience and expertise in domestic violence policy on Wednesday 14 October 2025, which presents a draft framework for engaging people with lived experience and expertise of domestic and family violence [DFV] in the design and development of policy.

(2) That this House notes that according to the report:

• lived experience as a concept and practice can be understood in various ways, and engaging people with lived experience in policy design can help to identify gaps in response systems and services, and ensure the voices of victim-survivors inform policy development and service delivery, "good policy" is that which is informed by people whom it most directly affects;
• there has been a lack of meaningful and comprehensive engagement of individuals with lived experience in policy design, despite the growing evidence base that has documented the benefits of doing so;
• in Australia, gaps particularly remain in the context of New South Wales, with acknowledgement that further systems work is needed to formally engage those with lived experience of DFV as part of policy processes;
• benefits from lived experience engagement include:
  • strengthened research outcomes;
  • policymakers gain greater insights into challenges and experiences of those most affected by policy decisions and how decisions impact people's lives;
  • improved policies, services and programs so that they meet the needs of users;
  • brings awareness to issues of safety and confidentiality in domestic and family violence policy and service design, thereby ensuring responses are safe and inclusive; and
  • empowering victim-survivors to regain confidence and self-esteem, as well as pride in being able to contribute to change.
• funding models in the domestic and family violence sector, whether it be research, policy or frontline service provision, must incorporate adequate funding to remunerate, engage and adequately support lived experts in line with best practice guidelines; and
• consideration should be given to designing funding models that enable appropriate remuneration for lived experience engagement as well as allow organisations to coordinate training and development activities and support the safety and wellbeing of lived experts.

(3) That this House notes the following six draft guiding principles which are included in the report:

• prioritising victim-survivor and trauma-informed engagement: policymaking processes actively prioritise the value of lived experience engagement, alongside research, practice knowledge and other forms of expertise, and take a trauma-informed lens to engagement;
• safety, care and wellbeing: safety and wellbeing is prioritised for victim-survivors to ensure safe, effective engagement;
• whole-of-experience engagement and support: victim-survivors feel prepared and supported to participate in an engagement activity, support is provided before, during and following engagement activities and participants are remunerated for time and costs;
• robust policy engagement processes: engagement processes encourage diversity of representation, match participant experience to engagement opportunities, understand and seek to mitigate power imbalances that exist, and strive for ongoing, sustainable engagement;
• systems are gender-informed and expertise-led: engagement processes and policy design consider the gendered nature of domestic and family violence, as well as advance system reform to address systemic failures; and
• accountability, transparency and evaluation: there is follow-up to show the impact and outcomes of victim‑survivor participant involvement and lived experience participants are acknowledged for their participation, and embedded feedback-loops provide information on how their input will be used.

(4) That this House affirms the vital and irreplaceable role of lived experience and expertise in the design and development of domestic and family violence policy.

(5) That this House commends the work of all those involved in the creation and release of the report, including the members of DVNSW's Lived Expertise Policy Advisory Committee who informed the research, Dr Mihajla Gavin from UTS Business School and DVNSW CEO Delia Donovan.

Motion agreed to.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

19 November 2025