Need support to leave a relationship?

The Leaving Violence Program can provide financial and other support to help you leave a partner who uses violence.

About the Leaving Violence Program

The Leaving Violence Program will support eligible victim-survivors leaving violent intimate partner relationships.

Eligible victim-survivors can get up to $5,000, including up to $1,500 in cash or equivalent and the remaining funds in goods and services. Other supports include safety planning, risk assessment and referrals to other essential services for up to 12 weeks.

The Leaving Violence Program is not a crisis support service.

The Leaving Violence Program starts
on the 1st July 2025

The Leaving Violence Program can be accessed by emailing Walumarra Strong Families at admin@walumarra.com.au and our team will get back to you, or by calling (02) 5816 9035.

How to apply for the Leaving Violence Program support?

You can apply online for the national program at leavingviolenceprogram.org.au

Dubbo operates from Walumarra Strong Families - Unit 1/64 Wingewarra Street, Dubbo with outreach to communities within 2 hours driving distance including Mudgee, Nyngan, Coonabaraban, Coonamble, Parkes, Forbes and surrounds.

All applications are completely confidential. If you need help to complete your application, you can call 1800 253 283 (1800 2 LEAVE).

If you have a support worker already supporting you, you can ask them to refer you to the Leaving Violence Program.

Download Referral Form

The Leaving Violence Program

Leaving a partner who uses violence can be a risky time. The Leaving Violence Program can provide financial and other support to help you when you have left, or are leaving, a partner who uses violence.

What is intimate partner violence?

An intimate partner is a current or former romantic partner, such as a husband, wife, partner, spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. They can be any gender or sexuality. Intimate partner violence is any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm.

Intimate partner violence can be:

physical, verbal or sexual abuse
emotional, spiritual or psychological abuse
financial abuse
threatening, coercive, or seeking to control or dominate the other person.

What kind of support can you get?

The Leaving Violence Program is an individual support package that can provide you with up to $5,000 in financial support (consisting of a cash payment and goods and services) which you can spend on what is right for you.

This might include:

furniture or white goods
short-term accommodation
clothes, food, medicines
medical or counselling needs
school or education costs
relocation and transport
paying bond or rent
fixing a car

The Leaving Violence Program team can work with you for up to 12 weeks, if needed, to provide other support.

This can include things like:

completing a risk assessment
working with you to develop a safety plan
setting up a safe bank account
referring you to other relevant services, such as psychological and financial counselling, legal assistance, health services, or family, domestic and sexual violence specialist services.

Who is eligible for support through the Leaving Violence Program?

You can access the Leaving Violence Program if you:

are experiencing intimate partner violence, and
have changed, or have been planning to change, your living arrangements in the past 12 weeks because of the intimate partner violence. For example, you have left your shared home, or your partner has left or been excluded from the shared home, or you have a plan, or want help to make a plan, to leave a partner who uses violence and change your living arrangement.

To be eligible, you must also:

be 18 years and over, and
be experiencing financial stress (e.g. having difficulty accessing money or paying bills), and
be living in Australia as either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or temporary visa holder, and
have not received the payment in the last 12 months (includes: Leaving Violence Program payment, Escaping Violence Payment (EVP) Trial; or the Temporary Visa Holders Experiencing Violence Pilot (TVP) payment. The program is open to people of any gender or sexuality.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The Leaving Violence Program includes the Regional Trials that deliver the Leaving Violence Program through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led organisations. The Regional Trials can provide culturally appropriate support for people accessing the Leaving Violence Program.

The Regional Trial areas are Broome, Cairns, Darwin and Dubbo.

People who live in these areas have a choice about how they apply for the Leaving Violence Program.

You can apply to the Regional Trial organisation in your location or you can apply to the national program. For more information visit leavingviolenceprogram.org.au/regionaltrials

If you live outside of a Regional Trial area, you can apply to the national program at leavingviolenceprogram.org.au

If you need help to complete your application, you can call 1800 253 283 (1800 2 LEAVE).

Translation services

For help in other languages call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Hearing and speech communication support

If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech communication difficulty you can use the National Relay Service (NRS) to contact the Leaving Violence Program.

The NRS has specially trained staff called relay staff who act as a ‘relay’ or a bridge between people who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have speech communication difficulties, and the person or organisation they are calling.

The Access Hub website has instructions for many different relay methods including:

TTY (Speak and Read, Type and Listen, Type and Read)
Voice relay
Video relay
SMS relay
NRS chat
NRS captions

Visit the Access Hub website at accesshub.gov.au to find a relay method that works for you.

Important

Please be aware that the Leaving Violence Program is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

If you or someone you know is experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via 1800RESPECT.org.au or text 0458 737 732.

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person and you’re feeling worried or no good, you can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 to speak to a Crisis Supporter. No shame, no judgement, just a safe place to yarn.

All of these services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.