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We never give up
When it comes to protecting vulnerable children, we never give up, because every child needs a champion. Support our latest advocacy campaign.
Barnardos Australia Response
to the NSW Budget 2025
NSW Budget 2025: A safer NSW for children
Barnardos Australia welcomes the NSW Government’s focus on children in this year’s Budget, including the $1.2 billion investment to strengthen the foster care system. A 20% increase in foster carer allowances is a long-overdue recognition of the vital role carers play in keeping children safe and supported. Children in foster care with Barnardos Temporary Family Care programs are 2.9 times more likely to be safely returned to their family than other children in NSW foster care.
The Budget also delivers significant investment into the justice reforms to better protect victim-survivors of (DFV). A new Hub will enable women and children to take part in legal proceedings in a trauma-informed environment without having to see their perpetrator, also providing them with counselling, legal aid and financial advice.
However, we are deeply concerned that baseline funding for frontline DFV services has not increased. We have joined Domestic Violence NSW in calling for a 50% uplift in funding. Right now, families are waiting over two months to access vital services — an unacceptable for children.
We are pleased to see $20 million allocated to crisis accommodation and transitional housing. But urgent support is only part of the solution. Long-term investment in early intervention is essential to keep families strong and prevent crisis.
We look forward to continuing to work with government towards our shared goals for NSW children and families.
Advocating for children is everybody’s business
Our Domestic Violence advocacy
All children have a right to grow up in a home free from violence and abuse. In Australia, 1 in 4 children are exposed to domestic and family violence (DFV)* and one child is killed per fortnight by a parent or step-parent.^
The devastating effect of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) on children and young people has been acknowledged yet, despite the evidence, children and young people continue to be regarded as witnesses, rather than acknowledged as victims who experience the trauma of DFV.
We advocate for children and young people who have experienced domestic and family violence by calling on the government to improve the laws, policies and practices that will make children’s lives better.
Homelessness is a child safety issue
Barnardos provides supported crisis accommodation and transitional accommodation and works with families to prevent homelessness. Children have the right to a safe home and the current housing crisis in Australia is forcing thousands of families into homelessness.
Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children.* When our practitioners are supporting families to escape domestic and family violence (DFV), they find that there is little or no crisis housing available. We also find that fewer crisis accommodation services exist in places with the highest DFV rates, including deaths by domestic and family violence.
Barnardos is advocating for increased funding for safe, secure and affordable social housing for children and families fleeing domestic violence situations, including crisis, transitional and long-term housing in order to directly prevent children needing to enter out-of-home care.
Housing is a
child safety issue
Housing is a
family violence issue
Housing keeps
families together
Contact us for more information about our homelessness advocacy work.
Our research and government submissions
Barnardos uses its knowledge and expertise to respond to calls for advice by Royal Commissions, State, Federal, Territory and local Governments. We make submissions, appeals and recommendations and we provide comment on discussion papers, draft legislation, government guidelines, program reform and system effectiveness.
“We feel the child should have a have voice in the decisions that affect them”
Giving Children a Voice: Barnardos Advocacy
Video captions
I’m Dr Rob, Head of Knowledge, Outcomes and Research and research at Barnardos Australia.
Well it’s a fact that at-risk children lack political power, and we feel that they should have a voice in the decisions that affect them, and the issues that are really important to them.
We undertake rigorous research and evaluation of our services, with a range of universities.
And what we really want to do is get the hard evidence, what’s the impact of our services, what really works, what do we really need to keep doing.
