Safety Should Not Cost Anyone This Much
by Imogen Tyndale
28th September 2026
There’s a question we don’t ask often enough about domestic violence: not just can someone leave, but can they afford to?
For decades, Anglicare has walked alongside people facing some of life’s hardest moments. We’ve seen firsthand the courage it takes to leave a violent home; the planning, the fear, the hope. But increasingly, we’re witnessing something that stops people before they even start: the cost.
Our new report, The Cost of Leaving, puts hard numbers to something our workers have long known, and the findings are stark.
The minimum cost of leaving a violent home and establishing basic safety has risen by 71% in the past decade. In that same time, the overall cost of living rose by 35%. Many Australians are being priced out of safety and forced into impossible choices.
In Australia, we are facing intersecting crises in family and domestic violence, the housing system, and the cost-of-living, and we cannot ignore those people seeing the harshest consequences of this.
“Facing a choice between violence and homelessness, she began the process of having the AVO revoked. Not because the danger had passed, but because the financial insecurity had become, in her mind, the more immediate threat.”
To understand what that really means, consider what leaving actually requires. It’s not just courage, but also available cash. Bond on a new rental (now $2,724 on average nationally, up 103% in a decade). A week in a budget motel while you find your feet. A moving truck to carry what you can ($220 a day, more than double what it cost in 2016). First month’s groceries, phone, power, internet. A day of childcare so you can attend the appointments that will determine your future. Add it up, and you’re looking at over $7,000 just to get started.
For many victim-survivors, that money simply doesn’t exist. Financial abuse – a partner controlling bank accounts, accumulating debt in someone else’s name, restricting access to income – is woven into the fabric of domestic violence. People flee not just with bruises but with damaged credit histories and empty accounts, hindering their next steps. They arrive at the door of freedom and find it locked from the other side by an economy that wasn’t built with them in mind.
In a rental market where only 2.6% of properties are affordable for a single parent on minimum wage – and just three appropriate rentals exist across all of greater Sydney – the search for somewhere safe to land can feel impossible before it begins.
But sometimes, even the most well-meaning of us can compound a foster carer’s experience of grief:“I could never do what you do. I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye!” is such a common but misplaced offering of support. Our carers say the loss never gets easier, but it’s worth it for what they can give to a child, and what a child gives to them.
Our Clinical Care team suggest that one of the most helpful ways to support carers is to really see the grief. As David Kessler, (grief expert and author) suggests: “Each person’s grief is as unique as their fingerprint, but what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed ... to be fully present to the magnitude to their loss without trying to point out the silver lining”
We can help by asking, “What feels hardest about this right now?” and staying long enough to listen to the answer. We can offer concrete support, “What day works best for me to bring dinner / pick up the kids/ drop off some shopping?”
This is not a distant problem. It sits in the gap between what government support offers and what leaving actually costs. The Federal Government’s Leaving Violence Program provides up to $5,000 to eligible victim-survivors. It’s a lifeline, but our report suggests it falls roughly $2,000 short of what’s needed just for the basics. And that’s before legal fees, therapy, or rebuilding a household from scratch.
The human cost of this gap appears in our case study of Julie. After years of violence, she obtained an Apprehended Violence Order and stayed in the family home with her children. But rising costs, debt collectors, and the spectre of bankruptcy closed in. Facing a choice between violence and homelessness, she began the process of having the AVO revoked. Not because the danger had passed, but because the financial insecurity had become, in her mind, the more immediate threat.
She had not chosen violence. She had chosen the option that felt immediately survivable.
Scripture speaks often of justice for the vulnerable and the widow, of protecting those in danger. Proverbs 31 calls us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” We believe that call extends to the systems and structures that shape whether safety is possible.
The report calls for change; in supports, housing, and protections for victim-survivors. Far from radical, these are the floor of a decent society like Australia.
Your support of Anglicare’s work is a critical part of the answer. And we’ll keep making the case, loudly and clearly, that in a country as wealthy as Australia, no one should have to choose between violence and survival because they couldn’t afford anything better.
Need support?
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence, support is available.
Anglicare Counselling: 1300 651 728 (business hours).
Anglicare’s counselling service provides local, ongoing support and assistance during business hours.
1800RESPECT is Australia’s national 24/7 crisis and support service for anyone experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence.
If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
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“We love because he first loved us” – 1 John 4:19.
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