21 September 2026
Domestic violence doesn’t have an age limit. And it doesn’t stop being a national emergency because it happens behind closed doors.
The devastating deaths reported across NSW this weekend are a reminder that women of every age are being killed in violence happening in homes and communities across our country.
We stand with the families and communities grieving their loved ones.
There has been important work and investment from governments, and we want to build on it. But the scale of this crisis demands so much more.
This is large-scale violence and, at its most devastating, murder. We would not accept this level of loss in another area of national safety, and we cannot accept it here.
No single government, service or system can solve this alone. This touches every family, every postcode and every community across the nation.
Australia has the evidence. We have the research, the recommendations and the National Plan. We know what needs to change.
What we need now is investment at the scale of the crisis and a genuinely integrated response, from federal government through to local communities.
That means dismantling silos, connecting systems and keeping victim-survivors at the centre. It means properly resourcing specialist DFV services and strengthening the connections between DFV, mental health, health, housing, justice, child protection and education.
It means calling men and boys into the conversation, not shaming or blaming, and challenging the attitudes and behaviours that drive violence.
It means effective perpetrator interventions and accountability, alongside the specialist support victim-survivors need to stay safe.
No woman should fall through the gaps between systems. No frontline service should be left carrying a national crisis alone.
We cannot keep responding to women being killed one tragedy at a time. This is an intergenerational crisis that requires long-term commitment, coordination and sustained national investment.
We have the evidence. We have the solutions. Now we need to resource them at the scale of the crisis.
About DVNSW
We are the peak body for specialist domestic and family violence services in NSW, representing more than 200 member organisations across the state. We work to improve policy, legislative and program responses to domestic and family violence through advocacy and collaboration, while promoting good practice and primary prevention. We exist to eliminate domestic and family violence from society.