chronic rates of violence and to work towards our Closing the Gap commitments", in addition to the funding already committed to the National Partnership on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses. The National Partnership provided funding to each of the states for various frontline services. Australian Capital Territory In 1997, the Domestic Violence Prevention Council (DVPC) was established under the Domestic Violence Agencies Act 1986 as an independent statutory body. ACT Policing is a member of DVPC. In October 2015, in a bid to tackle the family violence, ACT Policing launched the Family Violence Coordination Unit. In 2016, the ACT Government reviewed the level of domestic violence response by different agencies and in June 2016, it accepted all the findings, and released a report entitled Response to Family Violence. In the released report, among others, the government pledged a Family Violence Statement to the ACT Legislative Assembly every year and a $21.47 million package over 4 years. Under the same commitment, the government acknowledged the fact that the emotional, physical and financial abuse were not part of the Domestic Violence Agencies Act 1986, and the victims were not protected from such abuse. It pledged to change the Act and to better protect the victims. With the 2016–2017 budget, the ACT Government set a new precedent in Australia when it introduced an annual domestic violence levy on all households. Sections 156A–165 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 define the ACT police powers. They include ACT police officers having (for the purpose of preventing family violence) the power to enter private premises without warrant and search and seizing firearms. New South Wales In 1990 Redfern Legal Centre established the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme (WDVCAS) in to provide a range of specialist legal and support services to women at court seeking Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs). This holistic service model, including the concept of a safe room, was subsequently expanded and adapted to the conditions and resources available at other local courts throughout NSW and other parts of Australia. Like the NSW Women's Refuge Movement the WDVCAS has struggled to secure adequate government funding throughout its existence and was put through a tender process despite opposition within the sector. On 14 October 2015, Pru Goward, the NSW Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, stated that the government would provide a $60m package to tackle some of the most serious domestic