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3. Domestic violence self-funded refuges

Refuges—also called shelters—provide a place of safety for women and children escaping domestic and family violence. Most refuges in Queensland receive government funding to provide temporary supported accommodation and other support services to women and children affected by domestic and family violence.

Some other organisations offer domestic and family violence accommodation services without receiving government funding. These are known as self-funded refuges. Unlike government-funded refuges, self-funded refuges do not have to meet requirements under quality checking processes such as:

• meeting the specific practice standards for working with women affected by domestic and family violence
• meeting the requirements for delivering Specialist Homelessness Services, or
• complying with our Human Services Quality Framework.

Referral considerations

Self-funded refuges that wish to be considered as a referral point for domestic and family violence organisations need to demonstrate that their service can appropriately meet the safety, security and support needs of women and children escaping domestic and family violence.

Referral organisations must be confident that any self-funded refuges they refer to are safe and appropriate.

Suitability Assessment Guide

The Suitability Assessment Guide is a resource to assist referral organisations to consider if the self-funded refuges are appropriate for referral:

• Suitability Assessment Guide (PDF, 689 KB) Suitability Assessment Guide (DOCX, 9.9 MB)

The guide may also be used by self-funded refuges—or organisations seeking to establish a self-funded refuge—to self-assess the suitability of their current and/or proposed services.

The guide outlines 5 criteria for assessment:

1. Safety
2. Understanding risks and needs
3. Working with clients
4. Staff
5. Governance.

Registration as a Residential Service

The Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002 requires all residential services that meet the threshold requirements, including self-funded refuges, to apply for registration and accreditation.

More information

Fact sheets for organisations wanting to establish a private refuge:

• Domestic and family violence refuges—Information for self-funded refuges (PDF, 135 KB) Domestic and family violence refuges—Information for self-funded refuges (DOCX, 2.1 MB)

Fact sheets for referral agencies about self-funded shelters:

• Domestic and family violence refuges—Information for referral agencies (PDF, 133 KB) Domestic and family violence refuges—Information for referral agencies (DOCX, 2.1 MB)