Safe Homes, Families, Communities

Hon Peter Gutwein MP

Premier

Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence

The Premier is the spokesperson for Safe Homes, Families, Communities and leads Tasmania’s response to preventing and eliminating family and sexual violence.

The Premier chairs the Family and Sexual Violence Committee of Cabinet.

Hon Sarah Courtney MP

Minister for Women

The Minister for Women represents Tasmania on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Women’s Safety Council which provides a forum for member governments to drive national progress in reducing violence against women and their children.

The Council oversees implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

The Minister chairs the Family and Sexual Violence Consultative Group.

The Safe Homes, Families, Communities governance structure supports the Tasmanian Government’s response to family and sexual violence and implementation of actions.

Under Safe Homes, Families, Communities, we continue to deliver actions through a coordinated and collaborative effort between government agencies, with our non-government partners.

All Ministers with responsibility for actions under Safe Homes, Families, Communities are members of the Family and Sexual Violence Cabinet Committee.

The Family and Sexual Violence Consultative Group (FSVCG) is comprised of representatives from key government and non-government family and sexual violence services, as well as services representing key cohorts, including: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a disability, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people, people in rural and remote communities, children and young people, older people, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and men.

The role of FSVCG is to:

• Provide expert advice to inform Tasmanian Government responses to family and sexual violence issues
• Provide feedback on Tasmanian Government policies, programs, services and initiatives that address and prevent and respond to family and sexual violence
• Support the sharing of information between the Tasmanian Government and the community sector
• Support the collaborative delivery of Safe Homes, Families, Communities and the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022 in Tasmania

The FSVCG is chaired by the Hon Sarah Courtney MP, Minister for Women.

Safe at Home is Tasmania’s whole-of-government, integrated criminal justice response to family violence administered by the Department of Justice. It involves a range of services working together to protect and support adult victim-survivors and their children, while holding perpetrators accountable for their behaviour.

Safe at Home services include:

• Family Violence Counselling and Support Service
• Tasmania Police Family Violence Units
• Court Support and Liaison Service
• Defendant Health Liaison Service

In November 2019, Safe at Home was awarded a gold medal in the community-led category of the 2019 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards.

For more information visit www.safeathome.tas.gov.au

The Tasmanian Government is a signatory to the Council of Australian Governments' National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010 - 2022 (the National Plan), which brings together the efforts of all Australian governments to make a real and sustained reduction in the levels of violence against women.

The National Plan is being delivered through four, three year Action Plans:

• First Action Plan (2010-2013) - Building a Strong Foundation
• Second Action Plan (2013 - 2016) - Moving Ahead
• Third Action Plan (2016-2019) – Promising Results
• Fourth Action Plan (2019-2022) – Turning the Corner

Key achievements of the National Plan to date include the establishment of:

• Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)
• Our Watch
• 1800RESPECT