The Prime Minister has announced the Government will conduct what he has called a ‘rapid review’ into best-practice domestic violence prevention approaches to ‘deliver a report to Government later this year’.

While the Coalition supports a prevention approach to family and domestic violence and that being the focus of this review, we are calling on the Government to demonstrate proper accountability and confirm the date this review will be reporting to the Government on its work. That date must be given by the Government today.

Refusing to provide a clear reporting date is simply not acceptable given how vital this work will be to save the lives of women and children in our communities. Media reports indicate the Report could be provided by as late as September but there is nothing in the announcement confirming even that to be the case.

The commitment to stopping domestic violence remains above politics and bipartisan. To that end, the Opposition is asking to be briefed by the Review Panel at regular intervals during its work. The Government must also be clear about how this review will contribute to the already extensive consultation conducted for the second National Plan to End Violence against Women.

This comes as the Budget was rightly criticised for not properly funding frontline services, in a context where $300 million of energy relief payments will go to owners of unoccupied homes, $40 million will be spent on an advertising campaign for Labor’s tax plans and a further $45 million will be spent on advertising Labor’s Future Made in Australia proposal in the lead up to the next election.