The most significant investment in the package is a huge $426.6 million allocated over four years to develop 75 extra women's refuges under the 'Core and Cluster' model which pairs accommodation with critical services in one, central location.

In 2021, Wagga was ranked 20th of the 130 LGAs in NSW for reported incidents of domestic assault according to BOCSAR, yet the city only has one shelter for women.

Wagga Women's Health Centre's Clare Kendall said the statistics show Wagga has a serious problem, warning the numbers are likely far higher because other forms of non-physical violence like coercive control are not measured in the crime rates.

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She said it is very clear at least one of the 75 proposed shelters should be allocated to Wagga.

"We absolutely need more accommodation across the board," she said. "We need immediate crisis accommodation but we also need more long term options for women and their children and currently the need is greater than the capacity we have."

Belinda, who prefers not to identify her full name for safety reasons, runs the city's only women's refuge, Sister's Housing.

She said the Core and Cluster funding is the right move from the government because it will give women a better option when fleeing abusive situations.

"Coming into crisis accommodation and a refuge is very confronting for many people," she said. "You're living in a communal setting - you have a bedroom and then you have to share everything with people you don't know and that can be very unsettling for women and children.

"So, I think this core and cluster accommodation model for family and domestic violence is very much needed across the board and very much needed in out community regionally."

Around 40 per cent of the women helped by Sister's Housing are fleeing domestically violent situations. Belinda said they will benefit from the new funding, but added that she believes more long-term accommodation funding will also need to be on the table going forward.

Within the funding package, $52.5 million has been allocated to build 200 sustainable, social and affordable housing dwellings across the state, though where the homes will be built has not yet been determined.

Ms Kendall said she is hopeful the funding will be fairly distributed to regional hubs like Wagga, but warned historically that hasn't always been the case.

"I am cautiously optimistic but we tend to lose out on these sorts of things or be overlooked," she said. "So I am cautiously optimistic because there is that need, the statistics show that."

While announcing the funding alongside new NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said the funding hopes to tackle the undeniable link between violence at home and homelessness.

Ms Kendall agreed the funding was historic and a huge step for NSW in facing it's domestic violence crisis.

"To have this funding arrive in one fell swoop is a massive step and it's completely welcome, it is so necessary and required and we absolutely welcome it," she said.

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