The federal government has fast-tracked $10.7 million of funding for domestic violence services in the Northern Territory, weeks after a suspected murder-suicide in Central Australia.
The funding was promised by the previous Coalition government but had not been confirmed by Labor.
It will now become available ahead of the October federal budget, and means the territory will receive nearly $15.5 million in additional domestic and family violence federal funding over two years.
The announcement follows a series of deadly domestic violence incidents in the NT, including the deaths of a 30-year-old mother and her baby in outback Central Australia and the death of a 33-year-old woman in a community near Katherine.
Speaking to reporters in Darwin, federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the funding would support a range of services, including helplines, housing and accommodation, support services for children and men's behaviour change programs.
"We recognise there are complexities around delivering support services in remote parts of the Territory, so it's critical they are receiving the funding they need to keep women and children safe," she said.
Ms Rishworth announced on Wednesday an extra $3 million for domestic and family violence services and youth services in Alice Springs.
Domestic violence rates 'six times the national average'
The Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic and family violence in Australia.
Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows those figures have jumped for the third year in a row.
Despite this alarming statistic, federal funding for NT support services continues to be based on population size rather than demand.
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the federal funding boost was the first step towards achieving needs-based funding for the NT.
"The complexities and challenges we have in the territory are far greater than any other jurisdiction," she said.
However, Ms Rishworth would not commit to a needs-based funding model.
Police statistics show domestic violence incidents have risen by almost 30 per cent since Labor came to power in 2016.
Ms Fyles said the government was working on "generational change" and had appointed Kate Worden as minister for domestic, family and sexual violence prevention in an NT first.
Ms Worden said the territory's high rates of domestic violence incidents illustrated the urgent need for ongoing funding.
“Our domestic homicide rate is six times the national average," she said.
"Our rate of domestic and family violence related assaults is three times the national average and is three times higher than any other Australian jurisdiction."
The government is yet to release the second action plan in its overarching 10-year strategy to reduce domestic, family and sexual violence, which is meant to run from 2022 to 2025.
