Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment

Our role

Our Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment sets the direction on how we as an agency support customers experiencing family and domestic violence. It guides how we uphold and define our role in supporting Australians and ending family and domestic violence.

We’re formally aligning our strategic commitment to the Department of Social Services National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32. This is also known as the National Plan.

Our commitment

As a service provider

We make sure to identify at risk customers and connect people to payments and services they need. We also recognise the expertise outside our agency. We work with these specialist providers to better support people affected by family and domestic violence.

As an employer

We make sure to provide a safe and supportive workplace for our staff. This includes those affected by family and domestic violence. We train staff and teach them about what family and domestic violence is and how to connect to support services if needed.

Our strategic commitment

Read our Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment:

• Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment
• Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment.

Our actions

We’re continuing to take action to meet our commitment and support people affected by family and domestic violence.

What we’ve done so far

In 2025, the agency completed a Safety by Design Review to explore how our services and products are misused to abuse customers and staff. Through the review, we identified a shared understanding of the problem and highlighted the need for further engagement, in particular the need for ongoing co-design, to find ways to reduce agency risks of weaponisation.

We also updated our website to make it clear that we don’t tolerate our products, payments and services being misused to cause harm. Find out more about our zero tolerance for abuse statement.

This statement is an example of how we’re delivering on our Family and Domestic Violence Strategic Commitment and supporting the Australian Government’s efforts to address abuse across Commonwealth systems.

We’re implementing recommendations from the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Own-motion investigation into financial abuse through Child Support. This will continue throughout 2026.

What we’ll do next

In 2026, we’ll co-create initiatives on family and domestic violence aligned with the National Plan by partnering with all the following:

• policy agencies
• customers
• staff
• peak bodies
• community organisations.