Safe Places Emergency Accommodation (Safe Places) Program

Family and domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women and children in Australia. Access to safe accommodation is fundamental to the immediate safety of women and children experiencing family and domestic violence.

Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program

Under the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, the Australian Government invested $72.6 million in the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program (Safe Places). Safe Places is a capital works program funding the building, renovation or purchase of emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. There are currently 40 executed funding agreements with Safe Places providers, once completed they will support the delivery of 779 safe places for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence.

Find information for current Safe Places grant recipients.

Safe Places Inclusion Round

"As part of the 2022-23 October Budget, the Government committed an additional $100 million over 5 years (2022-23 to 2026-27) to continue the program via the Safe Places Inclusion Round. This initiative is part of the Government’s investment in women’s safety and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. Under the Safe Places Inclusion Round, 19 new projects will be funded to deliver around 720 new safe places across Australia, as a result of successful grant applications.

The objective of the Safe Places Inclusion Round is to increase the number of new and appropriate emergency accommodation places for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. This includes improving access for First Nations women and children, women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women and children with disability, and those who experience the intersection of racism, ableism and sexism.

Further information can be found in the media releases of the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP and the Hon Justine Elliot MP.

Consultation activities

From November 2022 to June 2023, the Department of Social Services (the department) undertook a range of consultation activities to inform the design of the Safe Places Inclusion Round. The department has published a Consultation Findings Report providing an overview of the key themes and findings from these activities. An Easy Read version is also available.

The department also engaged Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia (CIRCA) to facilitate:

  • Specialist sector workshops with organisations working with and/or advocating for the priority groups, and
  • Interviews with victim-survivors of family and domestic violence with lived experience of emergency accommodation.

CIRCA has developed separate reports detailing the findings from these activities, which are published at the link below and on the GrantConnect website.

If you or someone you know needs support regarding domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT / 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

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