This mother and her kids were rejected for emergency housing after fleeing a violent ex-partner

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5 days ago

An Indigenous woman who fled her hometown with her children to escape a violent ex-partner was rejected for temporary housing by a state government service and claims she was told to return home.
Sarah, whose name has been changed for privacy and security reasons, and her four young children were on the brink of homelessness when she first spoke to ABC News earlier this month, saying she was terrified to return to her community and had nowhere else to go.
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She said trying to get help from government support services had been "like talking to a brick wall".
"I felt like I was about to have a mental breakdown, I didn't know where to go or what to do," she said.
The woman and her children have now been granted temporary accommodation after the ABC contacted Housing Minister Rose Jackson, who has since apologised for the "error".
The case has prompted further calls from frontline domestic violence advocates for the government to fix gaps in the system putting victims at risk.
Sarah, who remains in fear for her safety, had been with her partner and the father of her children on and off for the past 12 years.
She said he had long subjected her to emotional and mental abuse, which sometimes became physical. Earlier this year, things escalated dramatically.
As Sarah left a licensed venue with a friend, her partner turned up and threatened to hurt her if she did not get in the car with him.
She said he then pushed her to the ground and dragged her by the hair.
"I told [my friend] to ring the police but she was too scared to do anything … then I tried to ring the police and he smashed my phone," she said.
She managed to walk to the nearby police station and report the assault.
He was arrested and charged with five offences, including two counts of assault and one count of destroying property, and an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) was put in place.
He was initially denied bail and remanded in custody, which allowed Sarah to return home with her children.
But last month the man, who had previously been charged with domestic violence offences against another woman, was granted bail to live at a family member's home.
Sarah said authorities did not inform her he had been released from custody, which they are required to do under the Charter of Victim's Rights, and she only learned he was on bail through a mutual friend.
NSW Police claim they did call her to inform her of his release, but she said she never received any phone calls.
Sarah said she no longer felt safe staying at home with their children, so she decided to leave their regional NSW town and drive to Sydney.
"I just thought [Sydney] would be the furthest place where he wouldn't be able to find us.
When Sarah arrived in Sydney, she briefly stayed with a friend before contacting support services for emergency accommodation.
Homes NSW initially granted her access to temporary housing, but told her she had to attend six rental housing inspections just for three nights of accommodation — an onerous requirement that is not supposed to apply to domestic violence victims.
"I started crying in front of [Homes NSW staff]," she said.
With her four young kids in tow, Sarah was forced to attend multiple housing inspections under threat of losing her temporary accommodation, which she stayed in for a total of two weeks.
Then she received a notification that her application to extend the accommodation had been denied because she already had a government house in her hometown, which she had fled for safety reasons.
Sarah immediately called Homes NSW staff.
"I thought I'm going to have to live in the car with my little kids.
"How do they expect people to ask for help when they don't treat them right?"
A Homes NSW spokesperson said the letter was "a standard letter that is issued to any client when providing grounds for a determination".
"This letter was incorrectly issued, and as soon as the error was identified our staff quickly ensured our tenant continued to be provided with temporary accommodation," they said.
Charity organisation Domestic Violence Service Management stepped in to fund a hotel for Sarah and her children temporarily, before ABC News contacted Ms Jackson's office.
She has now been granted temporary accommodation with Homes NSW and the requirement for her to attend housing inspections has been removed.
In a written statement, Ms Jackson said the department was now "working closely with this tenant to resolve her housing needs".
"We apologise for the incorrect advice initially provided to the tenant," the statement said.
"My direction, and Homes NSW's policy, is to support all tenants into safe accommodation if they are fleeing violence," the statement said.
"I have asked Homes NSW leadership to work with the local team to make sure our policy and procedures are accurately communicated to avoid this situation happening again."
Domestic Violence NSW senior policy and advocacy officer Livia Stanton said Sarah's case was not isolated and reflected "broader systemic gaps".
"Barriers to accessing emergency accommodation can be life-threatening," Ms Stanton said.
"When a woman leaving violence is told there's nowhere safe for her and her children to go, she is faced with an impossible choice; return to the perpetrator or face homelessness.
Ms Stanton said the government needed to invest in more crisis housing for victim-survivors and ensure staff across all services have adequate training in dealing with domestic violence cases.
"When someone reaches out for help, the response needs to be ready — timely, well-resourced and connected. It's time to shift the weight of that responsibility from those in crisis to the systems designed to support them," she said.
Ms Jackson said the government was "working to reduce domestic and family violence from all angles", including $426.6 million for the delivery of new core and cluster women's refuges.
The statement said the government would make further announcements "in this space" in Tuesday's budget.