The Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium launch their Tech-Facilitated Abuse Project

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion commending the Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium for the launch of their new project and their ongoing advocacy and work providing specialist, daily care to victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that:

on Thursday 21 May 2026, the Hunter Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Consortium launched their Tech-Facilitated Abuse Project at the Newcastle Museum;
in attendance at the launch were frontline practitioners from domestic and family violence services in the Hunter, academics including Professor Penny Jane Burke, solicitors from Hunter Community Legal Centre, local media and Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd;
the Hunter DFV Consortium is a unique collaboration of specialist non-government DFV and homelessness services in the Hunter region, collectively servicing the catchments of Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton and Upper Hunter;
the Tech-Facilitated Abuse Project is an innovative two-year initiative that will develop a digitised, searchable web app for DFV workers across the Hunter region, enabling them to access timely information, guidance and referrals to better support clients experiencing tech-facilitated abuse in a region with one of the highest rates of DFV in our state;
the project will also include the development of online training modules and in-person workshops tailored for DFV workers in the Hunter, informed by the lived experiences and expertise of expert frontline DFV workers;
according to the Hunter DFV Consortium, more than 40 percent of DFV caseworkers report they lack the skills or knowledge to effectively support clients experiencing technology-facilitated abuse;
according to the latest BOCSAR data:
- the rate of domestic violence assaults in all nine LGAs across the Hunter region is higher than the NSW state average; and
- over the last five years, domestic violence assaults in the Hunter have increased by an annual average of 11.2 percent, and in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie it has increased by an annual average of 7.8 percent;
year after year, frontline DFV services in the Hunter have been operating well beyond their resourced capacity and exercising every possible efficiency to keep up with increasing demand and ensure vulnerable women and children receive the specialist support they need;
experts have repeatedly described the situation these Hunter services face as dangerously close to imploding if they do not receive an increase in funding, with staff experiencing insurmountable burnout and over-stretched services at risk of closing their doors; and
there are no more efficiencies for these services to utilise in an attempt to fill the gap, with the only feasible way forward being for the NSW government to step up and provide these frontline services with the funding they desperately need amidst a worsening DFV crisis.

(2) That this House commends the work and advocacy of all those involved in the Tech-Facilitated Abuse Project, and expresses its deepest gratitude to every frontline worker in the Hunter region providing specialist, daily care to victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.

(3) That this House calls on the NSW government to commit to providing a significant and ongoing funding increase in the 2026-26 NSW Budget for all existing frontline domestic and family violence and specialist homeless services in the Hunter region to meet rising demand.

26 May 2026

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The Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium launch their Tech-Facilitated Abuse Project

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