Few services for Qld kids exposed to DV

An increase in the number of young people on supervision orders in Queensland comes as a new report identifies a lack of support for children exposed to domestic violence.

The state is failing to act proactively on the "intergenerational transmission of violence", and there are few services for children and adolescents, the Queensland Audit Office report says.

Young people exposed to domestic and family violence are more likely to have poor mental and physical health, struggle with school and experience behaviour issues, it notes.

"DFV (domestic and family violence) is also the leading cause of homelessness for young people, and many children who perpetrate DFV have been victims themselves," it said.

The number of young people beginning supervision in youth detention or the community for DV offences increased by more than 57 per cent between 2015/16 and 2020/21.

Domestic violence is not just a matter between victim and perpetrator, and a more wholistic approach is needed, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said in the report.

"It means focusing on prevention, and on helping young people who have lived through domestic and family violence to not follow that path themselves," he said.

The report examining the public-sector response notes that the Education Department's Respect program is a "small but positive" step, but it is relied on too heavily and is not monitored for effectiveness. 

Rehabilitating perpetrators to minimise the risk of reoffending also needs attention, and the Justice Department has limited knowledge of the programs it funds.

"Few rehabilitation programs and services are available for adult DFV perpetrators in prison and community settings," the report says.

Only four per cent of government spending on DV initiatives went towards prevention in 2018/19, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said.

The Department of Justice stopped collecting expenditure data after this time, and "does not know how much money has been spent on DFV initiatives since 2019/20", the report says.

"The role of government isn't to make an announcement and throw money at it, it's to plan, deliver and evaluate to keep people safe," Mr Crisafulli said.

Queensland Police recorded more than 139,000 DFV occurrences in 2021/22, up nearly 48 per cent in the past six years.

The audit found the Queensland Police Service is assigning a lower priority response category to more DFV calls, and not responding within target time-frames to urgent calls.

"Responders lack training, are missing information or not using it, and are not adequately assessing risk," the report says.

Among the report's 21 recommendations are a root-cause analysis into delayed response times, and identifying why a high proportion of prosecutions for choking, suffocation or strangulation offences are unsuccessful. 

Police should also undergo mandatory annual face-to-face training, and the co-responder model, including a wider range of services, should be expanded.

The state government has either agreed or agreed in principle to all the recommendations.

"I note that many of the Audit Office's recommendations overlap with recommendations from the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce," Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman said.

"This includes more integrated response, better training, and more information sharing."

The report notes the state government's "considerable effort and funds" to improve its response, and says there are signs of progress.

Police are referring more people for support and applying for more DV orders on behalf of victims.

Officers are acting more on order breaches and using new laws relating to strangulation offences, although there hasn't been an evaluation of effectiveness.

"Some inter-agency coordination is also happening," the report says.