The Safer Families Levy is not transparent or effective in informing the community how the levy is being used, says Auditor-General Michael Harris in a damning report on how the annual rates impost was being managed.

The Safer Families Levy was introduced in the 2016-17 ACT Budget to fund reforms to address family violence issues in the ACT and provide support and awareness of domestic and family violence in the ACT  community.

Every ACT household pays the $50 levy (as at 2024-25) through their annual rates. 

“We are deeply troubled, but also relieved by the findings of the audit report, which confirm a lack of
transparency and accountability in the allocation of funds from the Safer Families Levy” said Frances
Crimmins, YWCA Canberra CEO.

“It’s no surprise that in anticipation of the findings of the auditor-general, the ACT government finally
allocated the bulk of the levy towards frontline services in the 2024-2025 Budget.

“It took eight years of the sector pleading with their hands out for more support before a reality check by the auditor-general delivered funding to these desperately under resourced services.”

The report found that although total levy funding has increased, prevention and recovery services have not
been prioritised and their funding proportion has not significantly changed since 2016-17.

“YWCA Canberra faced critical challenges including suspending ACT Policing referrals to our Domestic

Violence Support Service, due to insufficient staffing. Funding for two specialist workers was only secured
in July 2023, despite years of escalating demand,” said Ms Crimmins.

“The auditor-general found there was no formal process to inform levy-funded initiatives because there
was no overarching strategy to guide responses to violence against women. Without system-wide evidence
to inform programs, we got disconnected thought bubbles.

“With the levy set to rise to $70 per household by 2026, amidst rising cost-of-living pressures, urgent
reforms are essential. Every dollar must directly support survivors and prevent domestic, family and sexual violence in our community.”

Mr Harris said his audit found that planning and development of domestic and family violence initiatives had been undermined by the lack of a territory-specific strategy for responding to domestic and family violence and an up-to-date understanding of what the needs of the ACT were in responding to domestic and family violence. 

The audit also found that the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Office (DFSVO), within the  Community Services Directorate, had not developed a performance monitoring strategy or evaluation  framework to measure the outcomes and impacts of domestic and family violence initiatives funded  through the Safer Families Levy and didn’t effectively use existing monitoring and reporting  arrangements to assess the performance of Safer Families initiatives. 

Mr Harris said: “Public reporting of the Safer Families Levy is not transparent or effective in informing  the community how the levy is being used or the performance of domestic and family violence initiatives, both individually and as a whole, in addressing domestic and family violence across the territory.”