Hundreds of people protested in Australian cities on Saturday, demanding more be done to stop violence against women.

At events in Sydney and Adelaide, demonstrators carried banners saying "no excuse for abuse" and asked the government to step in and prevent violence that has claimed dozens of lives already this year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the protests and vowed to march at further events planned for Sunday.

"A woman has been killed every four days so far this year," he posted on social media.

"Tomorrow I will walk with women across Australia to say enough is enough."

"Governments need to do better, men need to step up and as a society, we must do better."

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull also took part in a demonstration in Sydney, and said change was desperately needed.

The issue of violence against women has come to the fore in Australia after a spate of high-profile murder cases and a knife attack on a Sydney mall that left five women dead.

On Thursday, police arrested former "Home and Away" actor Orpheus Pledger, after he allegedly failed to appear in court to face charges of assaulting a woman.

Organisers in the advocacy group What Were You Wearing have called three days of protests from Friday to Sunday, saying "29 Women have been killed to men's violence since the start of 2024. Enough is enough." (AFP)