Clients who have experienced family and domestic violence
Key findings and insights
In 2023–24:
- SHS agencies assisted around 109,500 clients who had experienced family and domestic violence (FDV); around 42,800 of these were experiencing homelessness when they first presented to the agency.
- People who had experienced FDV were the largest group of SHS clients (around 2 in 5 clients, or 39% of all SHS clients).
- The rate of SHS clients who had experienced FDV was 41.1 per 10,000 population; a decrease from 46.6 in 2018–19.
- Clients who had experienced FDV were most likely to be women and children, nearly half were living in single parent families (48% or 50,700 clients) and most had been assisted by an SHS agency prior to 2023–24.
- Almost 2 in every 5 clients who had experienced FDV and were experiencing homelessness at the start of support were housed by the end of support, most commonly in private housing.
Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) agencies provide a crisis response service for people who need to leave their home due to violence. SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence made up 39% of all clients in 2023–24 (Supplementary data table CLIENTS.41). Since 2011–12, the number of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence increased by an annual average of 2.7% (Historical data table HIST.FDV).
Women and children affected by family and domestic violence were a national priority cohort in the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (see Policy Framework for more information).
For more information about the prevalence of family and domestic violence in Australia, and the policy landscape and government response, please see Clients experiencing family and domestic violence and Family, domestic and sexual violence.
Reporting clients experiencing family and domestic violence in the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC)
In the SHSC, a client is reported as experiencing family and domestic violence (FDV) if in any support period during the reporting period ‘family and domestic violence’ was reported as a reason they sought assistance, if the client was formally referred from a non-SHS FDV agency to a SHS agency or if as part of any support period a person required family or domestic violence assistance.
The SHSC collects information on clients experiencing family and domestic violence of any age. Changes made to the SHSC separates victim and/or perpetrators support services provided to clients. For 2023–24, data for SHS clients aged 10 and over who needed family and domestic violence victim/perpetrator support services are provided in the supplementary data table FDV.2. For more information, see Technical notes.
Data quality statement note
Caution should be used when comparing Victorian client numbers over recent years. A practice correction to how some family violence agencies were recording clients as well as a phased shift of family violence intake to non-SHS services may result in an overall decrease in FDV client numbers since 2017–18. For more information, see 2019–20 SHS Data Quality Statement and 2023–24 SHS Data Quality Statement.
Client characteristics
In 2023–34, SHS clients who had experienced FDV in 2023–24 were most likely to be female (75%); aged 25–44 (45%); and living as a single parent with one or more children (48%).
Around 2 in 5 (43%, 42,800) SHS clients who had experienced FDV were homeless when they first approached a SHS agency; 2 in 5 of these were housed at the end of support.
Figure FDV.1: Characteristics of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence, 2023–24
Dashboard shows the number of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence, by sex, by states and territories, by vulnerabilities, by Indigenous status, and by living arrangements.
Service use patterns
In 2023–24, clients who had experienced FDV received a median of 75 days of support, up from 43 days in 2017–18, an average of 1.9 support periods per client, and a median of 33 nights of accommodation (Supplementary table CLIENTS.48).
New or returning clients
Around two-fifths (38%) of clients who had experienced FDV were new SHS clients and 62% were returning clients who had previously been assisted by a SHS agency at some point since the collection began in July 2011 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.42). This does not necessarily mean that previously assisted SHS clients were experiencing family and domestic violence when they were previously supported.
- Around half of new clients (48%, 20,000) were aged under 18, 47% (20,000 clients) were aged 18–54, and 5.0% (2,100 clients) were aged 55 and over.
- Less than one-third of returning clients (29%, around 19,700) were under 18.
Clients’ needs and main reason for assistance
Two-thirds (66%) of SHS clients who had experienced FDV identified family and domestic violence as the main reason for seeking SHS services in 2023–24, 9.0% identified housing crisis.
Two-thirds (69% or 75,100) of SHS clients who had experienced FDV needed specific assistance for family and domestic violence, the highest need for this service of all SHS client groups, 68,100 were provided with this service.
Main reasons for seeking assistance
For SHS clients who had experienced FDV presenting at risk of homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance in 2023–24 were (Supplementary table FDV.6):
- family and domestic violence (72% or 41,200 clients)
- housing crisis (6.4% or 3,600)
- financial difficulties (4.2% or 2,400).
Among SHS clients who had experienced FDV and presented experiencing homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance in 2023–24 were:
- family and domestic violence (51% or 22,000 clients)
- housing crisis (14% or 6,000)
- inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (10% or 4,400)
- housing affordability stress (5.6% or 2,400).
Services needed and provided
Services provided to clients range from the direct provision of accommodation, such as a bed in a shelter, to more specialised services such as counselling and legal support. These services are generally either provided to the client directly by the agency or the client is referred to another SHS agency or other specialised service.
During 2023-24, the services most commonly needed by SHS clients who had experienced FDV were (Figure FDV.2, Supplementary table FDV.2):
- assistance for family/domestic violence (69% or 75,100 clients), with 68,100 clients provided this assistance; this group of clients had the highest need for family/domestic violence services than any other SHS client group
- short-term or emergency accommodation (45%, 48,900 clients), with 33,600 clients provided this assistance
- material aid/brokerage (42%, 45,800 clients), with 40,400 clients provided this assistance.
Figure FDV.2: Clients who experienced family or domestic violence, by services needed and provided, 2023–24
Stacked bar chart shows assistance for family and domestic violence services was one of the most common specialised services needed and were also one of the most frequently provided.
Housing situation and outcomes at the end of support
Almost 2 in 5 (10,700 clients) clients who had experienced FDV who were experiencing homelessness at the start of support were housed by the end of support; around one-fifth (21% or 5,700 clients) in private housing.
Outcomes presented here highlight the changes in clients’ housing situation at the start and end of support. That is, the place they were residing before and after they were supported by a SHS agency. The information presented is limited only to clients who have stopped receiving support during the financial year and who were no longer receiving ongoing support from a SHS agency. That is, information on client housing situations at the start of their first period of support during 2023–24 is compared with the client housing situation at the end of their last period of support in 2023–24. As such, this information does not cover any changes to their housing situation during their support period.
By the end of support, many clients who experienced family and domestic violence had achieved or progressed towards a more stable housing situation. That is, the number or proportion of clients ending support in public/community housing or private housing had increased compared with the start of support.
In 2023–24, of those SHS clients who had experienced FDV (27,600 clients) who were known to be experiencing homelessness at the start of support (Figure FDV.3, Supplementary table FDV.3):
- Around 14,200 clients started support in short-term temporary accommodation.
- Fewer clients were experiencing homelessness when support ended (14,700 clients).
- when support ended, clients were mostly either in short-term accommodation (7,300 clients) or private housing (5,700 clients).
- Around 5,300 clients ended support couch surfing.
In 2023–24, of those who were known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support (39,600 clients), most clients maintained their housing situation at the end of support; around 22,400 clients maintained private housing and around 8,600 clients maintained public/community housing.
Figure FDV.3: Housing situation for clients who have experienced family and domestic violence with closed support, 2023–24
Sankey diagram shows most clients started and ended support in private or other housing.
