Strategic priority 3

This priority contributes to whole of government efforts to ensure the family violence system:

is accessible, integrated, available and equitable
intervenes early to identify and respond
is person-centred and responsive and uses a trauma-informed approach
is supported by skilled, capable workforces that reflect the communities they serve.

To achieve this, we will provide adequate support and resourcing to family violence, sexual assault, child and family services and programs, to make them more sustainable and so that they have the capability and capacity to deliver high quality and effective services that better meet demand.

We will work with our stakeholders to ensure that the family violence and sexual violence workforces are healthy and safe, engaged and supported to collaborate, learn and develop.

We will enable multi-agency collaboration to increase the rates and effectiveness of identifying and meeting people’s needs and to enhance risk management and reduction. We will also support the safe sharing of information across the system at the right time, in line with required schemes, to help prevent further violence, keep victim survivors safe and hold perpetrators accountable.

In partnership with our stakeholders, our work plans will prioritise:
1. Resourcing, sustaining and supporting the continuous improvement of established family violence, sexual violence and child and family services.
2. Leading the growth and development of skilled, capable and sustainable family violence, sexual violence, child and family workforces.
3. Leading and supporting workforces and services to effectively identify family violence, manage and reduce risk, and meet needs.
4. Building a system that recognises and responds to children and young people’s experience of family violence and prioritises their care, development and wellbeing.
5. Delivering a coordinated system and service response for adolescents who use violence in the home, including workforce capacity building and referral pathways into therapeutic services.
6. Strengthening the specialist and non-specialist workforces across the system and action to improve wellbeing and retention.
7. Maintaining and building on a shared approach to risk assessment and management.
8. Strengthening early response and recovery to sexual violence, including the intersection with family violence.
9. Delivering The Orange Door network practice and operational improvements and development activities, including approaches to integrated practice and assessment of children and young people and cultural safety.
10. Introducing The Orange Door network performance monitoring approaches to support continuous improvement.
11. Introducing a demand management framework for The Orange Door network.
12. Planning for implementation and delivery of further reform to achieve the full intent of the statewide concept for The Orange Door.
In partnership with our stakeholders, our work plans will prioritise:
1. Engaging meaningfully and effectively to embed Aboriginal self-determination and cultural safety in order to respond effectively to family violence in Aboriginal communities.
2. Continuing the Dhelk Dja Fund and developing a long-term self-determining investment plan to support the sustainability of the Aboriginal service system and responses.
We partner with those who have specialist expertise, including lived experience, to inform and guide what we do.

We will enhance the ability of services to provide opportunities for victim survivor advocates to influence policy development, service and system reform planning and practice.
1. Ensuring lived experience continues to inform all aspects of our work, and support VSAC to deliver their priorities.
2. Collecting stories of recent client experiences to inform ongoing service review and development for significant areas of reform, including The Orange Door network.
3. Delivering intersectional approaches for inclusion & equity and lead the implementation of the Everybody Matters Inclusion and Equity Blueprint.
4. Incorporating the voices of children and young people in the design of policies, tools, guidance and training.
We will continue to build the evidence base about what works to demonstrate the benefits of the reform.

In partnership with our stakeholders, our work plans will prioritise:
1. Strengthening and extending data-driven and evidence-based approaches via monitoring and evaluation to inform innovation and continuous improvement across the system.
2. Improving the availability of data about children and young people’s family violence–related experiences, including data about demand and wait times for services and outcomes for children and young people following a service response.
3. Contributing to whole of government research and evaluation activities across the reform.
4. Improving forecasting, analysis and reporting of demand across the specialist family violence and sexual assault service systems.
5. Supporting and contributing to delivery of the Dhelk Dja Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, ensuring this supports Victoria’s targets to Close The Gap.
6. Developing and implementing client outcomes measurement and monitoring for family violence therapeutic interventions and perpetrator interventions.
7. Ensuring victim survivors, including children and young people, have a voice in monitoring approaches for the reform, and are consulted about what form that takes.
We will lead the family violence reform agenda and use our influence to incorporate this into wider policy and strategy across government.

We will increase the family violence literacy and responsiveness of decision-makers across all levels of government and beyond when they develop policy, programs or legislation. We will also enable broader policy, programs and legislation to better support effective family violence and
sexual violence support and prevention.

In partnership with our stakeholders, our work plans will prioritise:
1. Engaging and influencing across government and beyond to improve broader policy, programs and legislation relating to family violence, sexual violence, children and families.
2. Working with colleagues in DFFH to conduct a strategic portfolio review to better align joint priorities at the design, development, and delivery stages of our respective reforms.
3. Ensuring timely implementation of new governance arrangements to deliver strong, coordinated oversight and decision making for the reform, and the meaningful engagement of non-government system partners in governance.
4. Implementing our People and Culture Strategy action plan, creating staff wellbeing strategies for remote working and digital service delivery, and building a sustainable, diverse and collaborative organisation with the specialised capabilities and expertise required to effectively facilitate transformational reforms.

Updated 23 November 2021