A Liberal senator is yet to be convinced about the need to reverse budget cuts to legal services despite hearing "harrowing" evidence during a Senate inquiry into family violence.
A Labor-Greens dominated committee, in an interim report, has called on the federal government to immediately inject $200 million into the services.
Liberal Cory Bernardi is reserving his position despite admitting there was a range of deficiencies across the system.
But he said the commonwealth could not do everything, especially when the states and territories had issues with ongoing funding.
The outspoken senator said listening to "quite harrowing" evidence from women on the extreme meant he confronted issues he had never turned his mind to in the past.
"They don't know where to go, they don't know what to do. It's awful," he told ABC radio on Friday.
Senator Bernardi said the hearing had been a very positive experience for him.
"Hopefully it will flow through in government," he said.
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