Strengthening the Foundations: First Rolling Action Plan 2019-22 (Strengthening the Foundations) is the first of 3 Rolling Action Plans that work towards achieving the long-term vision for the workforces that intersect with family violence, as outlined in Building from Strength: 10-Year Industry Plan for Family Violence Prevention and Response (Building from Strength).
This vision is of a system that is flexible, dynamic, and person-centred, working together to respond to the complexity and harms of family violence, and to prevent it from occurring in the first place. It is also accountable and works collaboratively towards shared outcomes, its continuous development built on robust data and evaluation and harnessing technology.
The 3 Rolling Action Plans will steer organisations across the spectrum of specialist, non-family violence specialist, mainstream and universal service sectors, peak bodies and government in the implementation of Building from Strength. The initiatives that form this first Rolling Action Plan will lay the foundations for building supported, valued, skilled and diverse workforces and a responsive system that encompasses a range of sectors whose workforces intersect with family violence.
Specialist family violence response and prevention practitioners are facing increasing demand and urgent need across the system. The Royal Commission into Family Violence (the Royal Commission) acknowledged the commitment, knowledge and expertise of the specialist sectors. The role of workers across other sectors was also recognised, including community services, health, justice, human services and education and training.
Significant reform has already started to change the way the family violence system operates and how specialist family violence response and the prevention sectors work to identify, respond to and prevent family violence. Other system-level reform is also taking place across Victoria, impacting other workforces that intersect with family violence. For example, under the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM), workers across a broad range of organisations, professions and sectors have a shared responsibility and legal obligation to identify, assess and manage family violence risk, even where it may not be core business. These workforces must be supported to deliver on and work within this reform agenda.
The community services sector is also undergoing significant reform. The 10-Year Community Services Industry Plan articulates and responds to the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry, and its Rolling Implementation Plan 2019-2020 identifies priority actions. Strengthening the Foundations and future Rolling Action Plans will address a number of the priorities in the 10-Year Community Services Industry Plan for the specialist family violence response and prevention sectors, and actions will be coordinated between the two plans to ensure they complement rather than duplicate one another.
Strengthening the Foundations embraces the strength and diversity of Aboriginal communities and services in workforce and service system reform, and importantly, the foundation of Aboriginal self-determination. In doing so, it aligns with the vision and strategic directions set by both Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong People, Strong Families (Dhelk Dja) and the forthcoming Aboriginal Family Violence Industry Strategy.
Strengthening the Foundations will build on the vision of a family violence system that is more inclusive, responsive and accessible for all Victorians, as outlined in Everybody Matters: Inclusion and Equity Statement (Everybody Matters).
Strengthening the Foundations and future Rolling Action Plans will also align with other key state and national reform agendas. The Victorian Government is committed to partnering with the sector, across government and with the community to support this coordination.
This Rolling Action Plan has been developed in partnership with the industry. Key stakeholders and experts who guided the development and implementation of Building from Strength will also support the implementation of initiatives across all Rolling Action Plans, including the Industry Taskforce.
Underpinned by an evidence base from Building from Strength and the 2017 Census of Workforces that Intersect with Family Violence (2017 Census), Strengthening the Foundations is an important step in implementing the Victorian Government’s family violence agenda.
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