Desperate need to fix 'jigsaw puzzle' of domestic violence support funding

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will discuss women's safety with state and territory leaders on Wednesday when they meet for national cabinet.

Ahead of the meeting, Canberra organisations - including the Women's Legal Centre, YWCA Canberra and Domestic Violence Crisis Service - have all reported ongoing high demand for services.

Yet they say funding through both the ACT and federal governments can often be unpredictable, opaque, and bound up in red tape.

"There is a complexity around funding, which means that it's like a jigsaw puzzle," said Sue Webeck, chief executive officer of the Domestic Violence Crisis Service.

"And so it means that there's lots of administration over the top of a large number of funding agreements.

"We have some with the Commonwealth, we have some with the territory, we have some that come through the national partnership agreement from the Commonwealth to the territory."

This creates an inefficient system, Ms Webeck said, while the service was still not "resourced to the capacity to actually meet the demand of the community".

Frances Crimmins, the chief executive officer of YWCA Canberra, said the organisation received funding for two front-line workers, as part of the Albanese government's commitment to fund 500 domestic violence workers nationally.

But arrangements such as this were not always clear, she said.

"I think there needs to be more transparency from the ACT government on what they do with Commonwealth government funding - that's something that might come out of the national cabinet meeting."

Women's Legal Centre chief executive officer Elena Rosenman said governments at both levels needed to develop a clear understanding of what a holistic response to someone affected by gender-based violence should look like.

"Governments need to set an expectation and they need to hear from communities around what they think that women and children, and other people affected by gender-based violence and sexual violence should be able to expect when they reach out for help," Ms Rosenman said.

"And then they need to design a service system and resources service system that delivers that."

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he welcomed an opportunity to discuss the "national crisis" around women's safety at national cabinet on Wednesday.

"It's imperative that authorities across the country work together to support the frontline service providers and ensure that women - no matter where they live, can access adequate support," Mr Barr said in a statement.

"In Canberra, the ACT Government works in partnership with the domestic family and sexual violence sector to prevent and respond to gender-based violence."

The territory government has committed $86.7 million to initiatives addressing domestic, family and sexual violence, over the forward estimates.

"The government will continue to work in partnership with service providers to prevent and respond to domestic family and sexual violence in the ACT," Mr Barr said.