Domestic and Family violence is an issue which is fast moving towards a national epidemic.

Both parties unveiled their intended actions to reduce the crisis prior to the election, but experts are concerned these proposals lack the comprehensive approach needed to create meaningful change.

Labor's Financial Focus

Labor won the most recent election, held earlier this month.

The winning party's strategy centres heavily on combating financial abuse, which they describe as an "insidious and rapidly growing form" of control.

Their plan aims to prevent perpetrators from manipulating tax and corporate systems to create debt, make abusers legally accountable for debts forced upon victim-survivors through coercive control, and investigate methods to block perpetrators from accessing the superannuation of those they've abused after death.

The party has earmarked $8.6 million specifically for perpetrator-focused initiatives, including early intervention programs targeting young people showing concerning behaviours.

Coalition's Fragmented Approach

The Coalition's response appears more scattered, presenting 14 separate commitments without a cohesive framework.

Their plan emphasises expanding emergency accommodation and providing one-off payments to help women escape violent situations.

They've also pledged to boost funding for crisis helplines to ensure calls are answered promptly – addressing a critical gap in current service provision.

However, their $90 million commitment lacks detail regarding timeframes and represents less than a tenth of what frontline services estimate is required annually just to meet existing demand.

Funding Questions Remain

Funding clarity remains a significant issue with both proposals.

Beyond the $8.6 million for perpetrator programs, Labor has provided little detail about overall investment in their initiatives.

Neither party has committed to the multi-year funding models that service providers have consistently identified as essential for staff retention and consistent service delivery.

Law and Order Dominates Coalition Plan

A substantial portion of the Coalition's announcement focuses on law enforcement responses, including calls for a national domestic violence register and uniform knife laws across states.

While legal accountability matters, experts caution that over-reliance on policing and prosecution overlooks the structural inequalities and social attitudes underpinning the violence.

The Coalition also proposes new federal offences for online coercive behaviour and spyware use – a significant legal shift that would create federal family violence offences.

Questions remain about how these would interact with existing state laws, many of which already address stalking and electronic monitoring.

The party has also renewed its controversial 2023 commitment to a Royal Commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities – a proposal widely criticised by First Nations scholars and organisations who point to the problematic legacy of interventions like those in the Northern Territory.

Critical Gaps in Both Plans

Several crucial areas have been overlooked by both parties.

Sexual violence receives virtually no mention, despite its prevalence.

Neither plan adequately addresses housing beyond emergency accommodation, though lack of safe, affordable housing remains one of the greatest barriers for those attempting to escape violence.

Children's needs as victim-survivors are largely ignored, with no specific provisions for age-appropriate crisis responses or recovery support.

Despite recent public discourse on engaging men and boys in prevention work, this aspect receives minimal attention.

Additionally, neither party outlines robust monitoring frameworks to evaluate the effectiveness of their initiatives.

Both Labor and the Coalition claim their proposals build upon the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, which aims to eliminate gender-based violence within a generation.

However, it's evident that Australia requires stronger bipartisan leadership that treats this crisis with the urgency afforded to other national emergencies.

Voters are left wondering whether either party truly grasps the scale and urgency of the issue that continues to claim Australian women's lives.