Motion · 4 December 2024
Safer families levy: Transparency
The automatic reading did not capture the final outcome of this motion. Check the Minutes of 4 December 2024.
In short
- Proposed
- Deborah Morris brought this motion on 4 December 2024.
- Changed
- 3 changes proposed by 3 MLAs; 3 agreed, from Shane Rattenbury, Marisa Paterson and Thomas Emerson.
- Decided
- Outcome not captured.
- What was proposedDeborah MorrisLiberal · Opposition
Read the original wording (320 words)
That this Assembly: (1) notes: (a) community safety, including addressing domestic and family violence, is a core responsibility of the ACT Government; (b) domestic and family violence is one of the key drivers of demand for ACT Policing services; (c) in 2022-23, there were 1,412 reports of family violence related assaults, representing 44 percent of all assault-related offences reported to ACT Policing; (d) when the Safer Families Levy was introduced in 2016, the ACT Government claimed it would partially fund initiatives to tackle domestic and family violence; (e) since its inception, the levy has raised more than $46 million; (f) since the levy’s inception, frontline family and domestic violence services have continued to draw attention to the critical need for more resources; (g) the ACT Auditor-General’s Performance Audit Report on the Safer Families Levy found that the ACT Government’s administration of the levy lacked transparency, accountability and strategic planning; (h) the ACT Auditor-General made four recommendations to improve transparency, accountability, communication and strategic planning of the levy; and (i) the ACT Government claims that, from 1 July 2024, no non-frontline ACT Government employees are funded from the levy; and (2) calls on the Government to: (a) implement all the recommendations outlined by the ACT Auditor-General; (b) provide evidence to the Legislative Assembly that no money generated through the Safer Families Levy has been directed to other areas of government service and administration; (c) establish a discrete fund, separate from consolidated revenue, for the receipt, management and reporting of all activity related to the levy; (d) set out the income and expenses of that fund during the Budget process to ensure transparency and accountability; (e) develop a comprehensive and long-term strategy to guide the ACT’s commitment to ending domestic, family, and sexual violence in collaboration with relevant community sector stakeholders; and (f) report back to the Assembly on progress by the last sitting day of April 2025.
Grouped by key words as: rewrote the proposal, turned an action into a review.
Before(c) establish a discrete fund, separate from consolidated revenue, for the receipt, management and reporting of all activity related to the levyAfter this change(c) explore establishing a discrete fund, separate from consolidated revenue, for the receipt, management and reporting of all activity related to the levy;
The exact wording of this change
together: 1. Omit all text in paragraph (2)(c), substitute: “(c) explore establishing a discrete fund, separate from consolidated revenue, for the receipt, management and reporting of all activity related to the levy;”. 2. After paragraph (2)(e), insert: “(f) advise how it will invest in providing more Justice Housing properties so that people on court orders can reside in places other than the family home, and also that women on court orders can be accommodated with their children;”. Debate continued.
Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Agreed. The Minutes don't print the final text, so we can't check the wording.
Grouped by key words as: rewrote the proposal, changed a date or deadline, changed a number or target, added reporting or consultation, turned an action into a review.
The exact wording of this change
Omit all text after “That this Assembly”, substitute: “(1) notes: (a) addressing domestic and family violence is a core priority of the ACT Government; (b) domestic and family violence response is a key priority for ACT Policing; (c) in 2022-23, there were 1,412 reports of family violence related assaults, representing 44 percent of all assault-related offences reported to ACT Policing; (d) when the Safer Families Levy was introduced in 2016, the ACT Government stated it would fund initiatives to tackle domestic and family violence; (e) since its inception, the levy has raised more than $46 million; (f) since the levy’s inception, frontline family and domestic violence services have continued to draw attention to the critical need for more resources; (g) the ACT Auditor-General’s Performance Audit Report on the Safer Families Levy found that the ACT Government’s administration of the levy lacked transparency, accountability and strategic planning; (h) the ACT Auditor-General made four recommendations to improve transparency, accountability, communication and strategic planning of the levy; (i) from 1 July 2024, no non-frontline ACT Government employees are funded from the levy; and (j) the ACT Government 2023-24 financial year saw $40.5 million invested into domestic, family and sexual violence initiatives, of which $8.4 million came from the Safer Families Levy; and (2) calls on the Government to: (a) consider all the recommendations outlined by the ACT Auditor-General; (b) provide evidence to the Legislative Assembly that no money generated through the Safer Families Levy has been directed to other areas of government service and administration; (c) explore establishing a discrete fund, separate from consolidated revenue, for the receipt, management and reporting of all activity related to the levy; (d) set out the income and expenses of that fund during the Budget process to ensure transparency and accountability; (e) develop a comprehensive and long-term strategy to guide the ACT’s commitment to ending domestic, family and sexual violence in collaboration with relevant community sector stakeholders; (f) advise how it will invest in providing more Justice Housing properties so that people on court orders can reside in places other than the family home, and also so that women on court orders can be accommodated with their children; and (g) report back to the Assembly on progress by the last sitting day of April 2025.”.
Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Agreed. The Minutes don't print the final text, so we can't check the wording.
Added notes on First Nations culturally safe services and housing triage, and calls on First Nations commitments and housing for victim-survivors. Our summary, review in progress
The exact wording of this change
together: 1. After paragraph (1)(j), insert: “(k) the ACT Government made commitments in 2020 and 2024 to provide culturally safe family, domestic and sexual violence support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and (l) frontline crisis service providers are reporting being forced to triage women and children experiencing violence due to insufficient dedicated housing options for victim-survivors; and”. 2. After paragraph (2)(f), insert: “(g) advise how it will implement its commitments to meet the particular needs of First Nations people escaping family, domestic and sexual violence, including by ensuring all frontline services are equipped to provide culturally safe support; (h) invest in providing more suitable ongoing housing options for victim- survivors to a level sufficient to meet demand and avoid asking vulnerable people experiencing violence to remain in, or return to, unsafe conditions in their homes;”. Debate continued.
Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Agreed. The Minutes don't print the final text, so we can't check the wording.
- What the Assembly decidedOutcome not captured
Check the official record
- Minutes of Proceedings No 3, 4 December 2024, item 10
Find these on the Assembly’s chamber documents page. Wording is quoted from the Minutes, © ACT Legislative Assembly, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Our reading is automatic and may contain errors; agreeing to a motion is not the same as doing what it asks. Report a problem