Family Safety Victoria

Leading the implementation of many of the government’s family violence reforms.

Latest news

Find latest updates on the progress of the family violence reforms, news across the family violence sector, including opportunities to get involved. 

Family Safety Victoria (FSV) was created on 1 July 2017 to drive key elements of Victoria’s family violence strategy and coordinate support for families to help them care for children and young people. FSV is now a division of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Our vision

A future where all Victorians are safe and children grow up in environments built on gender equality and respectful relationships.

Our role

Family Safety Victoria works to:

  • implement key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence
  • make it easier for people to get the help they need
  • ensure people with lived experience and people with specialist expertise inform and guide the reform
  • bring organisations together to create new and coordinated ways to respond to family violence, and better support families

The family violence system we are building is inclusive, culturally safe and gives children and young people a voice.

We are united by a common goal: to keep women, children, young people and families safe.

Our structure

  • Deputy Secretary, Melanie Heenan
  • Director, Strategic Coordination & Governance , Vacant

Program and Service Development

This branch translates policy into program and service development to improve outcomes for family violence victim survivors, create more effective engagement with perpetrators, and deliver Victoria’s family violence reform agenda.

  • Executive Director, Kelly Stanton
  • Director, Service Development , Anita Canals
  • Director, Service Implementation & Support , Gwyneth Morrison (Acting)
  • Director, Operations , Fran O'Toole
  • Director, Information Systems , Jane Hingston

Policy and Design

This branch develops statewide, whole-of-system policy, design and operating models for key family violence initiatives, such as The Orange Door and MARAM, and related response service systems, workforces, interfaces and pathways. The branch also leads FSV's communications and strategic engagement activity ensuring all voices, including those with lived experience, inform reform activity.

  • Executive Director, Shasta Holland
  • Director, Aboriginal Strategy , Vacant
  • Director, Research & Planning , Trish Mitra-Kahn
  • Director, Service Design, Policy & Engagement , Alison Macdonald
  • Director, MARAMIS Reforms, Fran Jacka

Office for Prevention of Family Violence and Coordination

This branch is responsible for overseeing work to reform Victoria’s family violence system in delivering its 10-year agenda to build a Victoria free from family violence. The Office collaborates to ensure a coordinated approach to prevention of family violence efforts and works closely with Respect Victoria to enhance connectivity between prevention, behaviour change and response efforts.

  • Executive Director, Jo Pride
  • Director, Office for the Prevention of Family Violence and Coordination, Alice Dunt
  • Director, Family Violence Reform, Katherine Koesasi

Strategic Plan

The Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020-2023 will guide us through the next phase of the reform in the context of the 10-year plan to end family violence: ‘Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s plan for change’.

The Family Safety Victoria Strategic Plan 2021-2024 outlines how we will continue delivering nation-leading family violence reforms with our strategic priorities based on the underlying principles of intersectionality, Aboriginal self-determination, lived experience and service system partnership.

The 3 priorities are:

  • victim survivors, children and families are safe and supported to recover and thrive
  • perpetrators are held accountable, connected and take responsibility for stopping their violence
  • system change: preventing and responding to family violence is systemic and enduring.

The Strategic Plan is further supported by the Family Safety Victoria People and Culture Strategy.

Lived Experience Strategy

The Family Violence Lived Experience Strategy calls on government and the sector to embed lived experience across the full spectrum of family and sexual violence reform.

The strategy outlines the key phases of working together to transform a system to meet the needs of the people who use it.

Having introduced lived experience of family violence into government we are now learning from practice and testing new approaches as we move towards shared decision making, leadership and influence.

Find out more about the Family Violence Lived Experience Strategy.

Contact us

Family Safety Victoria

For general enquiries to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, phone 1300 475 170.

If you’re in immediate danger, dial 000. If you need family violence support or assistance with the care and wellbeing of children and young people, please visit The Orange Door(opens in a new window).

You can subscribe to email updates or connect with us on social media:

Information Sharing and MARAM

Privacy policy

Family Safety Victoria will manage your personal information carefully and in accordance with relevant legislation. For further information, please refer to our privacy policy.

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