Women experiencing domestic violence in rural areas will have better access to legal services as part of the Turnbull government's strategy to address the issue.
Attorney-General George Brandis said $15 million will be spent helping women access legal services through twelve new specialist domestic violence units as well as developing four new health justice partnerships.
About hald of the specialist units will be located in regional areas to tackle the additional barriers faced by domestic violence survivors in the region. Women from Indigenous and migrant communities are also set to receive targeted assistance.
"The locations of the domestic violence units and the health justice partnerships have been selected based on high reported rates of domestic violence and to ensure that women in each state and territory benefit from increased access front-line service delivery," Mr Brandis said.
The funding is part of the $100 million package of measures announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week to enhance the safety of women, he said in a statement.
The new specialist domestic violence units will be located in:
- South-West Sydney, NSW
- the Dubbo region, NSW
- North-East Melbourne, VIC
- the Mallee region, VIC
- priority locations within Brisbane and the Gold Coast, QLD
- Townsville, QLD
- North-East Perth, WA
- the Kimberley, WA
- Elizabeth, SA
- North-West Tasmania
- Alice Springs, NT
- Canberra, ACT
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
