A potentially life-saving program supporting domestic violence survivors will be available in nearly every NSW local court building.
As part of a one-year pilot, a specialist DV support worker has been available at 73 local courts to provide support during hearings related to DV criminal charges or restraining orders.
The Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service court program was due to end on October 31, but will now run an extra year. It will also be used in another 61 courts from November, the NSW government said on Tuesday.
Legal Aid NSW chief executive Monique Hitter says the service provides "potentially life-saving support to victim-survivors".
"The WDVCAS fill a crucial gap for women in need, providing wrap-around support to help both address and prevent domestic and family violence," she said
Extending the pilot will cost $6.1 million. The government will also spend $1.4 million to extend and expand a pilot embedding DV support workers in some police stations.
NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley says there has been "incredibly positive" feedback about the service at police stations in Kogarah, Fairfield, Griffith, Armidale and Nowra.
Five more police stations will be included in the pilot from November, after NSW Police consults with Legal Aid NSW and other government agencies.
The initiative aims to improve the experience of DV survivors who attend police stations, increase the number who report DV crimes to police, and streamline access to support.
Domestic violence-related assault is one of the few types of crime on the rise, with a three per cent annual increase in reports to police in the five years to December.
More than 90 reports of DV-related assault are made to police in NSW every day.
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