Queensland government defends $40m cut to family violence prevention funding

Queensland’s embattled Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Minister has defended millions in funding cuts.

Funding allocated for the state’s domestic and family violence prevention has been reduced by almost $40 million dollars from last year, state budget papers show.

The Labor opposition says the cuts are “indefensible”.

The state government had allocated $340.7 million towards DFV prevention for the 2026-27 financial year.

The latest budget papers reveal that $379.2 million was allocated in the 2025-26 budget, but only $356.5 million was spent.

DFV prevention Minister Amanda Camm said that funding was for a “specific” recommendation from the women’s safety and justice taskforce, which was “time-limited” and had been “delivered”.

“That funding and those actions were not frontline,” she said.

The taskforce made 277 recommendations to the state government across two reports handed down in 2021 and 2022.

She said all of the recommendations were now part of the state government’s DFV strategy.

“We came to office, and we delivered upon the coercive control legislation. It is now law,” she said.

“That was an action under the women’s safety and justice taskforce recommendations.”

She said she was working with other government agencies to ensure that every single recommendation was delivered.

“We are currently on track to do so,” Ms Camm said.

Ms Camm said the state government was further delivering on initiatives such as hope hubs, recovery hubs and electronic monitoring pilots.

“Our government is squarely focused on delivering protections for victim survivors,” she said.

‘No ifs, no buts’

Opposition leader Steven Miles said funding was “cruelly cut” from the department in the budget.

“They should reverse the cuts that they made to domestic and family prevention services.”

Shadow Women Minister Shannon Fentiman said it was “indefensible”.

“I cannot believe it’s 2026 and this government, rather than prioritising supporting women and children escaping violence, are cutting funding,” she said.

“No more excuses, no ifs, no buts.”

Ms Fentiman said the last report on the taskforce, which was set up by Labor, was handed down at the end of 2024.

“We have no idea whether or not any of those recommendations have been implemented,” she said.

“We have no idea about what funding has been put aside to continue that work because this government has failed to table a report in the Parliament.”

“And now we see funding cut for domestic and family violence prevention and the work that this taskforce set the Queensland government to do to keep women and children safe,” Ms Fentiman said.

Police Minister Dan Purdie said there had been no reduction in funding for “frontline DV services”.

“In fact, we are throwing everything into it,” he said.

He said the recommendation had temporary funding provided under Labor.

“It’s pretty disingenuous of [Steven] Miles to now be demanding how we’re going on their homework for temporary programmes.”

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’s Chief Investigator, Professor Patrick O’Leary, said that nowhere in Australia can afford to have less funding to prevent DFV.

“It feels that this current funding shortfall is going to really hit the aspirations that we have for eliminating this scourge on our community hard,” Professor O’Leary, a former taskforce member, said.

He added there was a national plan to eliminate DFV and that Queensland was “very much central and has been a big player in trying to drive that over the last few years”.

“It would be really disappointing for us to lose that momentum and bring about the change that’s already occurring,” he said.

“But it does require adequate resourcing and innovation to bring about that.”