Announcing $2.07 million in federal government funding to enhance key services at Leichhardt Women’s Community Health Centre in inner Sydney, the soon to be re-elected Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed that when he was young, his own mother had used the emergency service.

‘My mum came here 40 years ago or more,’ Mr Albanese said.

‘It has a reputation, which is that women can come here seeking support to improve their health and to get that support that they need when they need it, without judgement, just without coming in and getting that support. It actually is one of the earliest examples in Australia of feminism in action, set up by women for women to help women and that is why it is so important here.’

The upgrading of the service will include two more counselling rooms and larger clinic rooms to provide medical and nursing support.

The PM said a re-elected Labor government would also provide support for St Vincent de Paul Society to increase the amount of crisis accommodation provided to women and children escaping domestic violence. 
The funding increase of $2.43 million will enable the upgrading of Rosalie House, a domestic and family violence refuge providing crisis and transitional accommodation for women aged over 45 in Sydney’s inner west.

‘Quite often the reports are that women will either stay in a relationship, one that they should leave, or they will spend a night in a car or in a park or surfing around various lounge rooms of friends and colleagues. We need to do better as a society than that,’ the PM said.

The funding boost was welcomed by Suzy Pace, the Society NSW’s Housing and Homelessness Manager, who thanked Mr Albanese for the financial commitment, saying, ‘We know that the leading cause of homelessness for women and children is domestic and family violence, and one of the growing cohorts in homelessness at the moment is women over 55.’

Ms Pace told the gathering, ‘This financial commitment will mean that we can also expand and enhance our current service to bring it up to best practice. This crisis accommodation in the Inner West is for single women over the age of 45 specifically who have escaped domestic and family violence.

‘So, it’s a crucial service in this area, which like this building, needs a financial injection desperately, and we need to bring it up to best practice.

‘We need to provide better accommodation for these women fleeing from horrendous violence. We need self-contained accommodation, in crisis refuges with private amenities without sacrificing the on-site compassionate care and trauma-informed service from skilled caseworkers.

‘So this commitment means a lot to St Vincent de Paul Society and this area where it’s much needed… thank you so much for being here and also for the holistic vision of bringing us both here today...

‘Accommodation is key for accessing supports, the wraparound supports and what the Leichhardt Women’s Health service provides is amazing, and it’s really going to complement the women that we’re supporting in crisis accommodation.’

In New South Wales alone, 35,000 people go to bed without secure housing each night, many of them women, often with young children. Recent figures from the City of Sydney’s February 2025 Street Count show 345 people are sleeping rough in the inner city each night- a 24 per cent increase on the previous year.

NSW also faces challenges in providing adequate housing assistance. The state made up nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of the 280,000 people assisted by Specialist Homelessness Services between 2023 and 2024, according to the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare.

SVdP NSW reported that while its homelessness and housing services have assisted 6,746 individuals and families in 2024/25, 3,094 people remained unassisted.

The City of Sydney Street Count revealed that 98 per cent of government-funded crisis accommodation beds are occupied, leaving little room for those in need of a safe place to stay. R