Social workers in the nation's hardest hit region for domestic violence have welcomed a boost in long-term funding - even if it comes after what they believe to have been a slip of the tongue by a top politician.
Thousands of people across Australia rallied at the weekend for an increase in domestic and family violence funding and specialist training for frontline workers.
The Northern Territory has one of the nation's worst domestic violence records and frontline workers have been pleading for the government to invest $180 million over five years, based on its May 2023 report.
The NT government in its May budget provided $70 million over two years.
However, those same anti-domestic violence groups said they were left stunned on Friday when Chief Minister Eva Lawler said her government had made a public commitment to meet advocates' demands: $180 million over five years.
"We've already committed to that ... we probably need to provide clearer communications around it," Ms Lawler told reporters on Friday.
Ms Lawler's comments, less than a month from an election, took advocates by surprise, including family violence researcher Chay Brown who has advocated for the cash injection.
She said the government's decision was "news to us".
"We were only funded $70 million over the next two years (in the May budget); the government has never committed $180 million over five years to us," Dr Brown said.
"(But) if Labor has made that commitment then we welcome it."
Domestic and Family Violence Minister Kate Worden was forced to clarify the government's position on Saturday during Darwin's 'No More' rally, saying again that the government needed to communicate better.
YWCA regional manager Rachael Uebergang, whose organisation runs family and youth crisis shelters in the NT, stood beside Ms Worden at a press conference on Tuesday and said she also did not know the funding had been allocated.
"I had the privilege of being away with friends (on the weekend and) I came back on Sunday to a lot of messages and to what I saw as positive news," she said.
The funding equates to about $35 million per year for the sector, which Ms Uebergang welcomed, but she reminded Ms Worden that the sector was also calling for long-term, "ongoing" funding.
"This has been the work of a lot of people over many years ... but it is disappointing we didn't see the increase in funding from the federal government because the sector has called really loudly for needs-based funding," she said.
A spokesperson for Ms Lawler said on Tuesday that the government had committed to the extra boost in funding for the additional three years over what was funded in the budget.
Country Liberal Party domestic violence spokesperson Jo Hersey criticised Ms Lawler for the length of time it had taken the government to agree to meet the $180 million funding request.
"The CLP commits to $180 million over five years into domestic, family and sexual violence prevention, early intervention, response and healing," she said.
The NT has seven times the domestic homicide rate of anywhere else in the nation.
The commitment is the first time programs or shelters have been assured of funding beyond 12 and 24 -month funding cycles.
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