Stronger Families will deliver the Caring Dads program at three additional sites at Perth, Cannington and Bunbury, following a $1.6 million commitment from the Australian Government.

Caring Dads works with fathers who have used violence, including intimidation and coercive control, to help them understand the effect of their behaviour and take accountability for it. The program runs weekly over 17 weeks. Alongside the group work, it includes systematic outreach to mothers to ensure their safety and freedom from coercion, and collaborative case management with the other services involved with a family.

The expansion also extends the program to teenage and young fathers who are using violence, including young men who have been in out of home care. Reaching them earlier creates an opportunity to intervene before harmful behaviours become entrenched.

The funding forms part of a $31.7 million investment in Western Australia’s response to family, domestic and sexual violence. The remaining $30.1 million will support 50 full-time frontline workers in WA through to 2030 under the 500 Workers Initiative. Both commitments sit under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, with the Second Action Plan due for release in the first half of 2027.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Hart-Davies said:

“We have been delivering Caring Dads in the Peel region and across the Perth metropolitan area, and we have seen what happens when a father is given the room to understand the effect of his behaviour and the expectation that he will take responsibility for it. This funding lets us take that work to three more communities.

“The part I want people to notice is the focus on young fathers. Reaching a man in his early twenties, before patterns harden, is the difference between managing harm and preventing it. That is where the long-term value of this investment sits.

“Our thanks to the Australian Government and to the WA Government for backing work that takes years to show its results.”

Caring Dads recognises that children are victim-survivors of violence in their own right. That principle is what makes the program distinct from more general behaviour change work. The child’s safety and wellbeing sits at the centre of the intervention, alongside the safety of mothers.

If you or someone you know is experiencing family, domestic or sexual violence, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800respect.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Read the full announcement at ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/19231