21 September 2026

Following a horror weekend in NSW in which another 3 women were killed in the span of just 12 hours, Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd has written to the Premier demanding a significant increase in funding for frontline domestic and family violence services.

NSW is in a domestic and family violence crisis. Sadly, this crisis is not new. Frontline workers, victim-survivors, academics and advocates have been ringing the alarm for decades and pleading with State and Federal governments to take much more significant and urgent action to address it.

Boyd has called for an immediate increase in funding of a minimum $200 million investment to address chronic funding shortfalls that are causing calls to go unanswered and women and children to be turned away from support when they need it the most.

Quotes attributable to Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW spokesperson for Gendered Violence and Abuse:

“The NSW Labor government, like the Coalition before them, is severely underfunding the critical frontline services and programs that we know keep women and children safe.

“For years across our State, frontline workers have been working in under-resourced centres, desperately stretching their capacity to ensure that women and children who are trying to flee violence are able to find safety. Services are operating at up to 9 times their funded capacity and waitlists are at an average of 2 months with some stretching for months on end.

“Whenever we see cases like the ones we saw over the weekend, politicians wring their hands and express their sadness as though they have no power to prevent these tragedies from happening. Every domestic homicide is preventable and people across our State are angry that the Labor government isn’t putting its money where its mouth is and actually properly investing in the evidence-based programs and services that will turn this crisis around.

“These issues are not new, nor are the solutions to solve them. Reports, studies, testimony and evidence have all demonstrated for years where the shortfall is and how to address it. For years, this issue has continued to go unaddressed, while hundreds have died and hundreds of thousands experience avoidable violence.

“In a $135 billion annual state budget, even if funding was increased, it would still add up to less than half a percent of total annual expenditure. I think most people in NSW would think that’s a small price to pay to prevent these horrific crimes.

“The evidence is clear, and all that is lacking is the political will. The Premier, as the leader of this state, could change that today, and work with the Greens to act to make women and children in our State safe.”