By: Chiaka Barry MLA
Canberra Liberals Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Chiaka Barry MLA, has called for the ACT Labor Government to urgently bring forward domestic and family violence system mapping from before the end of 2028 to within six months.
Ms Barry will move a motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly calling on the Government to immediately commence mapping of Canberra’s domestic and family violence system.
The work would identify unmet demand, service gaps, workforce constraints, funding pressures and barriers to accessing supports, with findings and the Government’s response to be tabled within six months.
“My concern is that we have a 10-year Domestic Violence Strategy and a 2-year Action Plan which have been developed before updated system mapping has even been done,” Ms Barry said.
Earlier this year, the Government signalled it would undertake updated system mapping before the end of 2028 as part of its First Action Plan under the 10-year Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Strategy (2026–2036).
“All we know is that it is going to be completed sometime before the end of 2028. It’s like putting the cart before the horse. We need this now. We needed this yesterday,” Ms Barry said.
“Making a tangible difference for victim-survivors and frontline services requires us to pinpoint the system’s shortcomings so we can propose practical, targeted solutions.
We can’t do that well without a clear picture of how the system is currently operating.”
The motion also calls for the Government to clarify what measures it will implement in place of electronic monitoring, following its backflip on a promise to introduce electronic monitoring before the end of the term.
“This motion is not an attempt to slight the Government. Domestic violence has to sit above the political divide. It is about coming together and asking how we can make real improvements and bring the system’s failings into clear focus so we can take concrete steps to find solutions,” Ms Barry said.
The motion will be debated in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, 21 October 2026.