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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-06-20 Daily Xml
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Department of Human Services, $352,792,000

Administered Items for the Department of Human Services, $1,167,059,000


Membership:

Ms Pratt substituted for Mr Pederick.


Minister:

Hon. K.A. Hildyard, Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.


Departmental Advisers:

Ms S. Pitcher, Chief Executive, Department of Human Services.

Ms R. Ambler, Deputy Chief Executive, Department of Human Services.

Mr N. Ashley, Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Business Services, Department of Human Services.

Ms B. Marsden, Director, Office of the Chief Executive and Governance, Department of Human Services.

Ms S. Vas Dev, Director, Office for Women, Inclusion, Support and Safeguarding.

Ms E. Humphreys, Director, Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.


The CHAIR: I declare the proposed payments open for examination and I call on the minister to make an opening statement, if she so desires, and to introduce her advisers.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Thank you, Mr Chair. I will not be making an opening statement, but I will introduce the people with me. On my left is Sandy Pitcher, the CE of the department, and Chief Financial Officer Nick Ashley. We also have Deputy CE Ruth Ambler, and behind me Dr Sanjugta Vas Dev, Bel Marsden and Emily Humphreys, who is heading up our new Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

The CHAIR: The member for Frome, do you have an opening statement or is it straight to questions?

Ms PRATT: Straight to questions, and I will be sharing that with my colleague the member for Heysen.

The CHAIR: Sorry, I thought you might have been the lead on this one.

Mr TEAGUE: I might get started. My opening statement is only to say I appreciate the minister's presence, the committee and the advisers here for the purposes of this estimates process. I refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, where I think we will find ourselves focused, pages 114 and 115, starting with page 114, Program 1: Women, Equality and Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Prevention.

I refer specifically to the 2025-26 targets and the first of those targets, which is to lead the development of the government response to the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. I note, as all members will be aware, the recent gazettal of an extension of time from 1 July this year to, I think, 18 August this year for the handing down of that royal commission report. Perhaps I might then indicate a presumption. We know that is partly for the reason of there being such a strong response to that royal commission and that therefore might indicate that the royal commission is going to be coming back with some fairly substantial outcomes, recommendations and so on.

I open by inquiring what resources are available for the implementation in anticipation of the findings of the royal commission and what necessities the government anticipates will be for provision in the Mid-Year Budget Review, but first by pointing to resources identified in the budget?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Thank you to the member for the question. I will just provide a very brief reflection on that gazettal, the change to 18 August, and what the member himself alluded to in terms of the volume of submissions and hearings and use of the Share With Us tool that the royal commission has encountered.

As everybody in this place is aware, the royal commission commenced on 1 July and is led by extraordinary South Australian Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja AO. It is largely, in a very general sense, looking at the four themes of prevention, intervention, response, and recovery and healing, and also looking at the coordination of the whole-of-system effort. The commissioner, as I said, and the commission have received a total of 381 written submissions and 251 of those have been published. There have been numerous hearings right around the state and many people providing information in confidence.

The royal commission is now, as the member has spoken about, focused on preparing its final report and, obviously, reviewing those public hearing transcripts, submissions, data and the huge body of evidence that has been collected over the last 11 months. It is due to that scale of engagement and ongoing interest from the community and the sector that that adjustment to the royal commission's timeframes was agreed upon.

I reflect on that to say that I am so incredibly grateful for the work of the commissioner and the commission and so pleased that so many women have had that opportunity to share their stories, to be heard and to know that their voices and experiences matter. Also through this royal commission we are sending a message to our community that we will not tolerate domestic, family and sexual violence in this state.

In terms of the investment, as the member would be aware $3 million was committed to the establishment and running of the royal commission itself. As is articulated in this budget, we have also invested $1.5 million in the central response unit, the Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. That has been an incredibly important unit in terms of preparing the cross-government submission but also responding to requests for information from the commission and preparing and providing any documents that are required.

We have been very clear that significant investment, significant funding, will be required on receipt of those royal commission findings. We very much look forward to, in about seven or eight weeks' time, receiving those findings and examining those findings and any recommendations the commissioner has chosen to make. We are very clear that there is investment that will follow on receipt of those findings as we understand the scope, the breadth, of what the commissioner proposes in terms of South Australia addressing any system gaps and also elevating, finally, in South Australia, the opportunity we have to genuinely lead a whole-of-government, whole-of-community and whole-of-sector effort.

As I have said before publicly, significant investment will follow on receipt of those findings. We look forward to the findings and examining exactly to which efforts we direct that funding. Let me be very clear: our government absolutely embraces this once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally, comprehensively tackle the awful prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence and the gender inequality that, sadly, we know is a driver of this terrible prevalence of violence against women.

Mr TEAGUE: It was a long answer, and I do not detect in there any indication from the minister that there is any money in the budget at all for responses to the outcomes of the royal commission. I indicate many shared sentiments in relation to the important work of the commission. If that is the case—there is no money in the budget— what contingency has the government provided for in terms of response, or, as I foreshadowed already in the question, are South Australian women and all the rest of us going to have to wait for a Mid-Year Budget Review to get any identification of the funding that is necessary?

I emphasise for the committee that this is a royal commission that has been running and, until recently, known to be concluding its work right about now. I just want to be clear and correct about that being the government's approach to the matter in terms of funding. Contrast that against the provision that the government has made of at least $50 million just now, together with some accelerated legislation for the redevelopment of the North Adelaide Golf Course, for example. It is possible to make provision for such future expectations, and the minister has given a fairly clear indication of the government's intent on receipt of the royal commission report.

So if it is another opportunity for the minister to identify any money at all in the budget, then I welcome that indication where it might be found. If it is to be found in some forward contingency that is not in the budget but in contemplation, then I would invite the minister to provide an indication of what the amount is. Otherwise, if it is a matter for Mid-Year Budget Review, then I invite the minister to be clear about that.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: I will be very clear about two things. Firstly, the royal commission will provide its findings on 18 August, seven to eight weeks away. Significant investment will follow when we have the opportunity to look, rightly, at what is recommended in that Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. Of course we will look at the recommendations and then determine, again, that significant investment going forward.

In terms of the question about women waiting, again let me be very clear: this budget contains funding for the royal commission response unit, so that as soon as we receive that report, as we have already been preparing for, we will set about determining that response. Also, in this budget we have new funding for the domestic, family and sexual violence prevention and recovery hubs that were a new investment when we came to government.

An investment that we called and called on the previous government to provide was not forthcoming. We provided that investment and those hubs are established, and we are now providing further hubs. Those hubs provide an opportunity for women in South Australia, alongside the 10 regional safety hubs, which are also now funded with paid staff—they were not, before we came to government—to seek early access to support, referrals and advice close to home.

Also, in terms of that question about waiting, the member will see in the budget the significant investment into housing that is provided. In that housing what is included is $15 million towards new accommodation in the city for particular cohorts of women. That sits alongside the recent opening of the YWCA housing, and it sits alongside our ongoing and considerable investment into crisis, transitional and ongoing housing for women who are experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. It also sits alongside our reversal of the terrible, terrible cuts to Catherine House and the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Service. They are now, through this government, restored, so all of those funds will continue.

There are many other things that I will speak about in terms of funding that we have now for women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence, and for all of the other parts of the system in terms of perpetrator intervention, recovery and healing supports, and also, on top of that, as I have been very clear about, on receipt of the findings of the royal commission—we will rapidly assess and consider those recommendations—significant investment will follow.

Mr TEAGUE: My question is again by reference to page 114, same program summary but this time focused on the first dot point under highlights 2024-25, which takes us to a highlight being described as the introduction into parliament of the Criminal Law Consolidation (Coercive Control) Amendment Bill 2024, following extensive consultation. With that in mind, again, it is the same theme: what resources are available for the implementation of that legislation? I put that in the particular context of remarks from the police minister yesterday. I will quote him for the benefit of the committee. The minister might already be aware. Yesterday, the police minister said:

The regime will not come into effect until 2028 here in South Australia, and part of the reason why was to see how these new reforms were being rolled out in other parts of the country to understand what impact they had generally, but in particular on police resourcing as well. Hopefully, over the course of the next one, two and three years we will have a better understanding of what that researching impact looks like.

The question, against the backdrop of that claimed highlight, is: why is the legislation not coming into effect until 2028, despite it being an election commitment from the government? I think it is something that the minister has advocated for as a particular personal priority.

Again, to take up the same analogy as before, we have seen the government pushing through legislation and commitments in the budget for the golf course redevelopment in a matter of hours, but we are going to see years and years now before the implementation of the coercive control bill, despite it being described as highlight No. 1 in the highlights list.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Thank you very much to the member for his question, and he is right, it has been a priority of mine and of our entire government. That priority is evidenced by the fact that, as an opposition party, we first moved to criminalise coercive control in 2020 but, very sadly, the bill at that time was not supported. It did not progress through the parliament. On coming into government, of course I seized the opportunity—our government did—to move towards criminalising coercive control.

What has been really, really important about the process of getting to the point where a bill has now progressed through the lower house and is currently being debated in this house is that we took the time before the new bill was developed to engage with targeted groups of women—Aboriginal women, women living with disability, women from diverse multicultural communities, young women, a range of women—to really make sure that we got the content of the bill right. We went through that process. We developed the bill, taking on board their feedback, and we then took the bill out for further broad consultation with our community.

I will note one of the things that was very clear from that consultation—from those earlier targeted conversations—but that has also been very clear from evidence around the world, including from those jurisdictions in Scotland and England in the UK that were the very first to progress coercive control legislation. Their very strong advice and our very strong advice from consultation was, 'Yes, get your legislation right, get that through the parliament.' As I said, I first attempted to do that in 2020 and it is now progressing through our parliament.

But the advice was also to absolutely make sure that following the passage of the legislation through the parliament, we take the time that is needed—and there has been strong advice that time is significant—to make sure that there is broad community understanding and that there is understanding in every sector and every government department about what coercive control is so that when women present having gone through an experience of coercive control it is recognised, particular charges are made in the best way possible and it progresses through the courts with that recognition of what it is and what the appropriate remedies are.

We have taken that advice. It has been consistent and really clear from every jurisdiction. I have talked with people across the globe who have introduced this legislation, and I have made it my business for a very long time to find out the best possible way to do this. That is absolutely the advice: to make sure you get it right so that we do not have an experience of women raising this issue and it not being understood in the way that it should be and so that the appropriate penalties and actions are taken following the raising of that issue. We are absolutely taking that advice on board.

We have also been working on that broad community awareness raising. We have been in contact with Sue and Lloyd Clarke. They have spoken at a forum here where we launched a campaign called 'See the signs' to begin that process of raising community awareness about coercive control. We had a first iteration of that campaign. The Attorney-General's Department then ran an iteration of that campaign. We also leveraged the time around the FIFA Women's World Cup to build a further iteration of that campaign to spread a message to a broad, diverse group of people about what coercive control is. We will continue to do that, and on the passage of the legislation we will take that time to absolutely, rightly make sure we get that implementation right.

Mr TEAGUE: If I may just briefly follow up, indeed I agree the minister has been calling for this. I think significantly in 2021 the minister highlighted that criminalisation of coercive control was urgently required then. In those circumstances, what is the minister's view about the police minister's remarks about the regime not coming into effect until 2028, again notwithstanding that it is a highlight of 2024-25 and in circumstances where I understand in New South Wales, for example, it has come into effect? Is this a matter of a wrestle for the minister to be having with the police minister? How would you understand the allocation of resources and the implementation time having really extended in this significant way?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Absolutely not. It is the right thing to do and that is the learnings around the world: to make sure that you get the legislation right, pass the legislation and then spend time, through whatever particular processes other jurisdictions have used, to learn from those processes, and to make sure that you have a significant period of time to make sure that once it takes effect that the community, services, everybody, is ready, each person who comes into contact with this awful behaviour from a service or response lens understands exactly what they are seeing and understands and has in place the particular processes to make sure that its implementation is effective.

I do not have the figures about the Scottish experience and the English experience on hand. I had lengthy conversations and there are lengthy articles written about the fact that one of their learnings was that, having implemented it quite quickly, there was a very, very low number of convictions. Despite there being no lessening of the occurrence of the offence, occurrence of the terrible behaviour, the convictions did not flow because there was not this broad understanding in the community and in all who interact with this particular offence of what it looked like, how to treat it, how to respond. So we absolutely want to make sure that we heed that advice and get it right.

Ms PRATT: Minister, if I can take you back to hubs, which you addressed earlier. The budget paper I am referring to is Budget Paper 5, the budget initiatives, where the budget provides $2 million over two years to continue and expand the domestic violence prevention and recovery hubs in Adelaide's north and south. Minister, what additional services will be delivered through the expansion of those hubs in the northern and southern suburbs? How many clients are you expecting to benefit from the expanded service, and what metrics will be used to measure that impact?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Thank you very much for the question. I know that this has been an area of interest for the member as well. As the member has said, there has been a commitment for an additional $2 million to be provided to ensure the continuation and the expansion of these really critical services, services that did not exist at all until we came to government and set about the establishment of those hubs. They are slightly different models because each of those communities informed us about what they wanted their hub to look like.

The southern hub, which is called The Yellow Gate, is very much about women being able to come in any circumstance to that place and either be immediately connected to counselling or referred, if there are particular supports and services that they need. I say this because it is always a double-edged sword: sadly, the demand has been strong. I say it is a double-edged sword because it is incredibly sad and I am so deeply frustrated that the demand is strong. It is good, however, that those women now have that place to go.

In relation to the southern hub, there is demand. We want to be able to respond to that demand. There are other services that are now associated with that particular hub and providing particular supports at particular times, which is great. It is growing in terms of others that are aligning their efforts there too. So that is about responding to demand.

The northern hub is a different model, because the community there wanted—and the strong advice from Women's Safety Services as to what was needed there—some co-location of Women's Safety Services personnel, police and Women's Legal Service personnel, so that women in particular circumstances could come into a very confidential environment and make those police reports, as well as be immediately connected to the Women's Safety Services. Again, the demand there has been very strong, and we anticipate that that additional funding will sustain and grow that demand, but it will look slightly different, because each of those hubs have been set up, rightly, because it was what the community articulated in a slightly different way.

The other point I wanted to make to the member is that, whilst none of us can predict the findings of the royal commission, I know from evidence right across the country that hubs as a model are being considered. There are different versions: The Orange Door and inTouch in Victoria and other iterations of hubs right around the country and in other places around the world. I look forward to continuing to explore how else we may grow or reshape them into the future.

Ms PRATT: To push the minister a little bit more in terms of data and metrics. The reference to Yellow Gate in the southern suburbs: I understand the bittersweet element of what is sad about a growth in demand. The question goes to, in a deidentifying way, how many clients, what data, what that growth looks like, how is it measured? Do we know to a number what that growth is for those hubs? How many clients are expected or are we seeing in that expansion and how are we measuring that? Is it having an impact?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: We do have those numbers for each. I am looking at those now. For the southern hub, between a roughly 12 to 13-month period, there were more than 500 inquiries, and 41 per cent continued to receive a direct service. There are also figures that can be broken down around the diversity of people approaching the service. The other thing The Yellow Gate does is—because this is the model the community wanted—as well as those inquiries that come directly through the door at Noarlunga, that hub has a team out in the community.

At any community events in the broad southern metropolitan area they are there giving information, making sure people know about the hub. There is also that figure of the number of community visits they do but, as you can imagine at those community events, sometimes they are very well attended and others not. I can tell you that there were 398 attendances across 19 community events held in roughly a 12-month period, but it is a different model.

In terms of the northern hub, which started slightly later than the southern hub, there was the need to establish it in a particular way with police and Women's Safety Services to find the right secure site for that particular hub. In the roughly nine to10-month period, there has been direct support for around 148 individual women and around 406 referrals that have also come through that. When I say 'referrals', there are those direct services but also the ones where there is work with a particular woman but where the ultimate ongoing service may rightly be with another service provider.

Ms PRATT: Would the minister take on notice, then, the demographic breakdown that the minister seems to have, across both the northern hub and the southern hub particularly, to better understand the diversity you mentioned for the southern hub? Would the minister take on notice to provide those details, to identify the need?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Yes.

Ms PRATT: Thank you. If I can move us on to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 114, looking at targets. The bottom dot point target states:

Participate in the independent review of South Australia’s homelessness system and support alignment between the review of the Domestic and Family Violence Safety Alliance and the response to the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

This is about the expansion of DV beds. I understand the DFV homelessness alliance and funding is a part of your portfolio of responsibilities. Why do the specialist women's services still only have direct responsibility for the 31 beds that were provided under the previous government in 2020? What has happened to the other 69 that had been funded and approved by the previous government?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: What I can tell the member at length, and I know there was some unfortunate incorrect commentary about this recently, is that it is actually 40 crisis beds that you speak about: 31 crisis beds for women and then nine beds for perpetrators, so it is actually 40. Coming into government, we saw the lack of ongoing funding for those, so we set about funding those beds. Across the alliance there are more than 300 other properties, and those properties go across crisis accommodation, they go across transitional accommodation and they go across those ongoing housing properties. So there is way more than the figure you just spoke about, way more than that, and that is very clear.

Also alongside those hundreds of properties for women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence, we contributed another $7.5 million to continue those crisis beds that you spoke about. On top of those 40 beds there are the more than 300 other properties, plus we have set about investing in establishing new accommodation for women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. Just recently, we were part of the opening of the YWCA housing development in the city, and soon the $15 million Tucker Street development will open.

As I said before, our government has restored the funding to Catherine House that, unbelievably, was cut by the former government. There were many cuts made by the former government that I was dismayed about, but the funding cut to Catherine House was just unconscionable. We have also restored that funding. We have provided ongoing funding that was not there for those crisis accommodation beds, and we continue to ensure there is accommodation across crisis, transitional and ongoing housing for women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence.

The other point that I would make, of course—and it is very clear in this budget; it is very clear in our Housing Roadmap—is that our government is delivering in terms of growing the supply of housing. We have been very clear that a range of types of housing is included in that significant investment.

Ms PRATT: The omnibus questions are:

1. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many executive appointments have been made since 1 July 2024 and what is the annual salary and total employment cost for each position?

2. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many executive positions have been abolished since 1 July 2024 and what was the annual salary and total employment cost for each position?

3. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what has been the total cost of executive position terminations since 1 July 2024?

4. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister provide a breakdown of expenditure on consultants and contractors with a total estimated cost above $10,000 engaged since 1 July 2024, listing the name of the consultant, contractor or service supplier, the method of appointment, the reason for the engagement and the estimated total cost of the work?

5. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister provide an estimate of the total cost to be incurred in 2025-26 for consultants and contractors, and for each case in which a consultant or contractor has already been engaged at a total estimated cost above $10,000, the name of the consultant or contractor, the method of appointment, the reason for the engagement and the total estimated cost?

6. For each department or agency reporting to the minister, how many surplus employees are there in June 2025, and for each surplus employee, what is the title or classification of the position and the total annual employment cost?

7. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what is the number of executive staff to be cut to meet the government's commitment to reduce spending on the employment of executive staff and, for each position to be cut, its classification, total remuneration cost and the date by which the position will be cut?

8. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what savings targets have been set for 2025-26 and each year of the forward estimates, and what is the estimated FTE impact of these measures?

9. For each department and agency reporting to the minister:

(a) What was the actual FTE count at June 2025 and what is the projected actual FTE account for the end of each year of the forward estimates?

(b) What is the budgeted total employment cost for each year of the forward estimates?

(c) How many targeted voluntary separation packages are estimated to be required to meet budget targets over the forward estimates and what is their estimated cost?

10. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how much is budgeted to be spent on goods and services for 2025-26 and for each year of the forward estimates?

11. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many FTEs are budgeted to provide communication and promotion activities in 2025-26 and each year of the forward estimates and what is their estimated employment cost?

12. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what is the total budgeted cost of government-paid advertising, including campaigns, across all mediums in 2025-26?

13. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, please provide for each individual investing expenditure project administered, the name, total estimated expenditure, actual expenditure incurred to June 2024 and budgeted expenditure for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28.

14. For each grant program or fund the minister is responsible for, please provide the following information for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 financial years:

(a) Name of the program or fund;

(b) The purpose of the program or fund;

(c) Budgeted payments into the program or fund;

(d) Budgeted expenditure from the program or fund; and

(e) Details, including the value and beneficiary, or any commitments already made to be funded from the program or fund.

15. For each department and agency reporting to the minister:

(a) Is the agency confident that you will meet your expenditure targets in 2025-26? Have any budget decisions been made between the delivery of the budget on 5 June 2025 and today that might impact on the numbers presented in the budget papers which we are examining today?

(b) Are you expecting any reallocations across your agencies' budget lines during 2025-26; if so, what is the nature of the reallocation?

16. For each department and agency reporting to the minister:

(a) What South Australian businesses will be used in procurement for your agencies in 2025-26?

(b) What percentage of total procurement spend for your agencies does this represent?

(c) How does this compare to last year?

17. What percentage of your department's budget has been allocated for the management of remote work infrastructure, including digital tools, cybersecurity, and support services, and how does this compare with previous years?

18. How many procurements have been undertaken by the department this FY. How many have been awarded to interstate businesses? How many of those were signed off by the CE?

19. How many contractor invoices were paid by the department directly this FY? How many and what percentage were paid within 15 days, and how many and what percentage were paid outside of 15 days?

20. How many and what percentage of staff who undertake procurement activities have undertaken training on participation policies and local industry participants this FY?

Mr TEAGUE: I have one final question that the minister might take on notice.

The CHAIR: One final question; squeeze that in.

Mr TEAGUE: Again at page 114, I refer to the fifth dot point under targets 2025-26, which is delivery of programs under the renewed NPA on family, domestic and sexual violence to commence on 1 July 2025. Will the funding that the government has provided here fund any new services or will it continue to fund existing ones? Can the minister provide to the committee a list of all of the services in this policy area that have been initiated during her term as minister?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: I will be very brief and answer this question now. We were really pleased to sign the renewed national partnership on 4 February 2025 and have been really pleased to work closely alongside the federal government to deliver a range of programs across intervention, prevention, response and recovery, and healing, including a range of incredibly innovative programs in the perpetrator behaviour change space.

The CHAIR: The allotted time having expired, I declare the examination of the proposed payments for the Office for Women complete. Further examination of the proposed payments for the Department of Human Services is referred to Estimates Committee A.

Sitting suspended from 11:31 to 13:30.


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