For Sydney mother-of-two Dianne, there was one item that was essential to breaking free of the physically abusive relationship that threatened to take her life and custody of her children.

It was her mobile phone.

Key points: Wesnet helps more than 600 people each month escaping family and domestic violence

Wesnet helps more than 600 people each month escaping family and domestic violence The Federal Government will not renew its funding after June 30, 2020

The Federal Government will not renew its funding after June 30, 2020 Companies such as Telstra have been strong supporters of Wesnet, which is hoping another funding agency will come on board

"I had to leave quickly because the GP said to me if I didn't leave I could lose my kids because he would report them to Family and Community Services (FACS)," Dianne, who did not want to be further identified, said.

"I'd had a knife against my throat. My ex-husband had tried to choke me. I do remember my daughter screaming. After that my daughter's anxiety escalated.

"I knew my phone would be tracked and traced and all the things go with it, but not enough about technology to protect myself."

So, on the advice of domestic violence workers, she got a new prepaid phone.

"All the things that happen after you leave: it's huge the task you need to do — you've got to deal with FACS, your solicitor, police, housing, job," she said.

"If you don't have a stable phone to use, how can you keep in contact with those particular sources?"

Now, a service that has helped almost 20,000 women like Dianne since 2016 has learned it will lose its funding from the Federal Government next year.

Each month, Wesnet helps more than 600 women and families escaping family violence.

It uses a network of 276 family violence services to provide victims with free Telstra smartphones and $30 of prepaid credit so they can re-establish their life.

National director Karen Bentley said their work was essential in an era when partners frequently used mobile phones to track women and locate them after their relationship had ended.

"There's now almost a complete overlap for women experiencing domestic violence and also experiencing some form of technology-based abuse," she said.

"Quite often they just either don't have a phone, they've never been able to have one, or their phone's been compromised by the abuser or potentially smashed or broken by the abuser."

Some women report needing up to five replacement phones if their phone is hacked by a partner or had spyware installed on it.

For Dianne, that is where a service like Wesnet comes in.

"When I needed a change of phone I didn't have the money," she said.

"When you go to a refuge you're so isolated and you want to be in connection with the people that can support you — and a lot of the people who can support you are online.

"To not have a phone that's safe is actually dangerous because you can't connect with your kids and you can't connect with your work and you can't connect with your family. It just cuts you off from everything."

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Service also trains workers on new forms of abuse

A free phone can be a lifeline for those escaping family violence ( ABC News: Alison Branley )

The service also trains domestic violence workers around the country to show women escaping family violence how to do things like turn off cloud services and detect tracking software to keep phones digitally secure.

"What we've been finding is that there are many women who might get a new phone but hadn't realised that it's connected to their abuser's account, or he's got access to other bits and pieces," Ms Bentley said.

"We train the frontline workers who give the phones to women to make sure that they understand all the different ways that abusers misuse phones and then how to potentially disrupt that."

Wesnet has existed since 1992, but without funding will lose its technology specialist officers and cease to offer technology-based abuse services.

Wesnet in numbers Nearly 20,000 free phones distributed nationally since 2016

Nearly 20,000 free phones distributed nationally since 2016 4,200 domestic violence workers trained to help victims

4,200 domestic violence workers trained to help victims 2,400 calls for help each year from agencies and victims

Ms Bentley is hoping the Government will reconsider, or another private partner will come on board to save the $1 million program.

"The initiative has been so important because it keeps women connected, it helps them stay in touch with the services, their family and support networks and it's also a lifeline if they actually need to contact police," she said.

Are more women's services facing the axe?

Repeated phone calls can be a form of technology-facilitated abuse ( ABC News: Alison Branley )

It comes after the ABC reported the Federal Government had defunded the peak body representing Indigenous survivors of domestic violence.

The National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum has learned the Government will not be renewing its annual funding of $244,000 a year.

It raises questions about whether other women and family violence services are also facing cuts and comes as the Federal Government rolls out the fourth and final stage of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.

Ms Bentley said it was small, specialist support service that could make the biggest difference to women.

"I think perhaps the Government hasn't fully understood that the special role that specialist services play and perhaps underestimated how much of a practical impact those programs can make," she said.

"Domestic and family violence is a really complex area and there's no one-size-fits-all solution.

"Women have better outcomes and better justice outcomes and get back to normal life quicker if they are supported by specialist services."

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Federal Department of Social Services said its Safe Phones for Women program was receiving "time-limited" funding of $3.3 million between 2015 and 2020.

She said Social Services Minister Anne Ruston's office was in ongoing discussions with Wesnet about their funding.

"Under the Australian Government's Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, a number of grant rounds recently provided organisations with opportunities to apply for new funding," she said.

"WESNET, however, did not apply for funding under these three open grant rounds."

The department did not respond to inquiries about whether other funding programs are facing the axe.