An Open Letter to the Australian and State and Territory Governments

Dear Ministers
Every person experiencing violence should be able to access social security, healthcare, housing, legal help, interpreting services and other supports they need to be safe.

We are writing to you as members of the National Advocacy Group for Women on Temporary Visas Experiencing Violence, that consists of over 60 state and national peak bodies, service providers and other organisations across Australia working to address domestic, family and sexual violence. Over the past few weeks, our members have become increasingly concerned for the safety and wellbeing of women on temporary visas who are experiencing violence and their children. We know that the requirement of social isolation may increase the incidence of domestic, family and sexual violence.

We urge you to act immediately to ensure that people on temporary visas experiencing violence have full and immediate access to:

1. Expand eligibility for relevant social security payments, including crisis, welfare and rental assistance payments to all victims/survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence, irrespective of visa status, across all states, territories and federal legislation.    

2. Expand the eligibility of housing support services to provide equal access without any visa status restrictions to temporary accommodation, crisis accommodation and transitional housing, and expand access to public housing and Safe at Home Programs to ensure that women on temporary visas experiencing violence and their dependants can have a safe place to live and a safe home.

3. Ensure all relevant service providers offering support to women with no income on temporary visas experiencing violence—including crisis housing, health, mental health, legal, domestic, family and sexual violence crisis services and community organisations —receive adequate funding to cater to the additional needs of these victims/survivors

We also recommend amending the Family Violence provisions in the Migration Regulations, creating a new temporary visa for people experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence and providing long term and sustainable funding to specialist domestic, family and sexual violence and legal services. This will ensure that people can access the support they need to be safe without the fear of being deported. For the detailed version of our recommendations, please refer to the Blueprint for Reform: Removing Barriers to Safety for Victims/Survivors of Domestic and Family Violence who are on Temporary Visas.

Yours sincerely,
Project Respect and the National Advocacy Group for Women on Temporary Visas Experiencing Violence