Joint meeting of Community Services Ministers and Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council
On Friday 20 February 2026, the Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council and Community Services Ministers came together in a joint meeting for the first time. Ministers met to discuss accelerating urgent work to reduce the number of children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) and change the trajectory of the rates of children and young people at risk of entering out-of-home care (OOHC) around the country.
Ministers also discussed the importance of gender and economic equality for advancing women and children’s safety. Ministers agreed that every government has a responsibility for keeping children safe and agreed to continue to work together to improve the safety and wellbeing of children. Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to achieving Targets 12 and 13 under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
Ministers welcomed the release of Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026-2036 (Our Ways) and noted the Commonwealth’s $218.3 million investment for ACCOs to deliver community-led specialist support services that help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families who are experiencing family, domestic, and sexual violence.
Ministers agreed that to change the current trajectory of increasing rates of children in OOHC, we need to connect work across child wellbeing, child protection and family safety, to better support children and young people who have experienced trauma and to keep children safe. This includes addressing risk and protective factors across systems to drive shared outcomes of safety and wellbeing for children and their families.
This strategic and coordinated approach to the experiences of children and young people is a key part of responding to Recommendation 5 of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches. Ministers agreed that the following four areas represent shared priorities for collective focus in alignment with both National and state and territory frameworks: common risk assessment processes for children, workforce and sector capability, investment in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and system integration.
Ministers agreed for Community Services Ministers and Women’s Safety Ministers to come together by the end of 2026 to report on progress made across these shared priorities. Ministers also agreed to explore specific actions for each jurisdiction to strengthen and model successful programs and enhance collaboration between all governments. These actions will accelerate progress on Targets 12 and 13 in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
These agreed practical actions will be delivered in partnership between jurisdictions, to advance our shared commitments and respond to local contexts. Practical actions include: Ministers also noted the Commonwealth’s update on investments to support women’s economic equality, and discussed the importance of women’s economic equality for improving safety. Ministers acknowledged the need to work across portfolios and jurisdictions on this issue.
Ministers also discussed the importance of both Ministerial Councils progressing their priorities and practical actions within individual Council work programs. For Women and Women’s Safety Ministers: For Community Services Ministers: