An Albury-Wodonga organisation assisting survivors of domestic violence will have to find another $10,000 for insurance after its Victorian provider withdrew its cover because the service is based in NSW.
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The Albury-based Women's Centre for Health and Wellbeing has been covered by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority, that state's government's insurer, but that will end from June 30, 2024.
The centre's general manager Marge Nichol explained how that came about at a media conference on Tuesday, May 7, with Farrer MP Sussan Ley where she reiterated concerns about a lack of Victorian funding for the service, which supports Wodonga women.
"They're pulling the coverage of insurance for us, so come the 1st of July we have to go outside and look for insurance that was already funded by Victoria, so it's shrinking our funding," Ms Nichol said.
"I think they have just shrunk it because we are so many kilometres over this side of the border."
Ms Nichol said the move was a costly blow.
"It just means that we need to budget for at least $10,000 a year for insurance, whereas before we had none, so now have to find it and insure and make sure we've got that ongoing," she said.
"Before we could just set and forget."
A spokesman for the VMIA told The Border Mail the cover had been withdrawn after the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing advised his authority that it would no longer be funding the centre in 2024-25.
The insurance drama comes against a background of year-on-year rising demand for the support centre's services.
"I think it was 40 per cent just coming out of COVID, then it was 13 per cent and now it's like a 17 per cent increase this year so far," Ms Nichol said.
Ms Ley wants the Victorian government to contribute more funding, saying it was contributing a "paltry" and "lousy" $50,000 annually compared to $780,000 from NSW.
The Victorian funding represents 6 per cent of the centre's budget, however in 2022-23 195 of its 449 clients came from south of the Murray River.
"I am calling on Jacinta Allan, a woman premier in Victoria who should know better, a woman premier who says she gets it, she understands the need for women to be supported when it comes to violence and escaping violence (to help)," Ms Ley said.
"Come on Premier, step up right here on the Border and support the amazing work of this women's centre."
Victorian government MP Jaclyn Symes was unable to comment specifically on the centre's funding, but stressed her state was spending more on tackling domestic violence than other jurisdictions around Australia.
The centre has previously sought help from former Victorian Upper House MP Tania Maxwell and in May 2023 Liberal politician Wendy Lovell tabled a petition in the Legislative Council calling for the government to rectify the funding shortfall.
In response, then Victorian Prevention of Family Violence Minister Ros Spence said the Labor government was providing assistance to victims through its Orange Door network.
"The Orange Door in Ovens Murray has been operating since 24 August 2021, and covers Wodonga, working closely with partner agencies to keep women and children safe, and hold perpetrators to account," Ms Spence said at the time.
"This includes making referrals to local services including Centre Against Violence, Gateway Health, Upper Murray Family Care and Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation."
In a letter to Benambra MP Bill Tilley on May 2, Ms Nichol said the centre was seeking an extra $300,000 per annum from Family Service Victoria.
