Develop a 10-year industry plan for family violence prevention and response

Government departments and relevant sector representatives have worked together to develop a 10 Year Industry Plan for family violence prevention and response in Victoria. This has included:

• the establishment of a time limited Industry Taskforce and other governance bodies, with broad cross-sector representation across the specialist family violence, primary prevention and community services sector, courts, police and corrections, unions, and research, education and training providers, as the key advisory and consultation body on the development of the 10 Year Industry Plan and associated workforce and sector reforms in Victoria
• the development of a strong evidence base for the 10 Year Industry Plan by undertaking a census spanning the range of workforces playing a role in preventing, identifying and responding to family violence
• extensive and ongoing engagement with the sector and the broader community

Building from Strength: 10–Year Industry Plan for Family Violence Prevention and Response (Building from Strength) was released in December 2017. Building from Strength aims to sustainably shift the way we prevent and respond to family violence and violence against women. It sets out a long-term vision for a workforce that is supported, valued, skilled and diverse. At its core is the creation of a system where specialist family violence and primary prevention sectors work together with community services, health, justice, education and training sectors to respond to the complexity and harms of family violence and violence against women, and to prevent it from occurring in the first place. It also outlines directions and immediate priority actions to lay the groundwork for sustained and enduring change.

Building from Strength includes funded, immediate-priority actions – a number of which are already underway or complete. These include:

• the development of an accredited initial family violence identification and response training course aimed at a foundational level workers’ role in family violence response, including those in universal workforces. The course includes elements such as understanding family violence and its drivers, applying an intersectional approach, recognising the potential for collusion with perpetrators, and engaging respectfully with victim survivors in ways that dispel family violence myths that support workforces to develop the skills and knowledge they require, as articulated through the Multi Agency Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (MARAM) and Building from Strength
• an attraction and recruitment campaign for the specialist family violence and primary prevention sectors. The first phase of the campaign commenced in May 2020 and includes a media campaign, a sector-hosted online jobs portal and promotion at interstate conferences
• partnering with the Future Social Service Institute (FSSI) to establish a Leadership Alumni network as part of our work to support sector leaders to shape and lead the family violence reform agenda. At the end of 2019, more than 250 sector leaders had completed the Leadership Intensives course, designed to support participants to enhance their leadership and change management capability
• addressing workforce supply challenges in the specialist sectors, including through the Enhanced Pathways to Family Violence Work program. In 2019 this program engaged 34 participating agencies, supported by 10 new Capability Building Coordinators, to create placement opportunities for 413 students and provided training supervision for 325 experienced workers. In 2020 the program will expand to engage over 80 organisations and 600 experienced workers, supporting placements for approximately 1,070 students
• developing a suite of supports designed to enhance the acquisition and consolidation of primary prevention knowledge and skills across the primary prevention workforce and broader intersecting workforces
• the Intersectionality Capacity Building project is developing a suite of resources to support capacity building on intersectionality for the specialist family violence and broader community services sector, which will include embedding an intersectionality framework through a systemic and organisational approach and supporting workforces to build reciprocal partnerships and facilitate referral pathways to provide appropriate, inclusive and responsive services to all Victorians
• developing a range of measures to support Aboriginal workforces to respond to family violence experienced by Aboriginal Victorians including the establishment of the Aboriginal Workforce Development Initiative, a grants program to support Aboriginal workforce priorities
• undertaking analysis of the results of the 2019 Census of Workforces that Intersect with Family Violence. The Census will provide updated workforce data to inform the implementation of actions under Building from Strength and the Strengthening the Foundations

Strengthening the Foundations: First Rolling Action Plan 2019-22, the first of three rolling action plans under Building from Strength, was released on 25 November 2019. Strengthening the Foundations is the implementation roadmap to achieving the vision of Building from Strength, laying the foundations for building a supported, valued, skilled and diverse workforce, while incorporating emerging evidence and responding to the changing family violence, primary prevention and broader systems.

Implemented