Workforce development projects supporting the family violence sector

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).

Delivered through Strengthening the Foundations, the Centre For Workforce Excellence has introduced several workforce initiatives aimed at supporting family violence sector organisation’s and their employees. These include through:

An attraction and recruitment campaign which aims to generate interest in the family violence sector and prompt action from students, graduates and professionals who have the qualities and skills the sector needs.
Training and workforce development which is focuses on improving family violence practice through information sharing, risk identification and collaboration across the service system.
Leadership and culture by providing opportunities for sector leaders to develop practical and immediate skills to drive family violence reform and support the health, safety and wellbeing of workers

Your organisation can help grow the family violence workforce in Victoria.

The ‘So, what do you do?’ campaign aims to generate interest in the family violence sector and prompt action from students, graduates and professionals who have the qualities and skills the sector needs. We need your help to ensure the message is spread far and wide.

The campaign was developed by Family Safety Victoria and was informed by research over several months involving potential candidates, family violence workers and stakeholders.

How you can help
- Read the information in the campaign kit for employers and stakeholders.
- Use the family violence jobs portal.
- Share campaign images and messages through your organisation’s social media networks.
The importance of providing people experiencing or at risk of family violence with appropriate support from a skilled and capable professional workforce is fundamental to ensuring we realise a future where all Victorians are safe, and children grow up in environments built on gender equality and respectful relationships.

The Centre for Workforce Excellence has a suite of workforce development products which support the delivery of specialised and targeted training, addressing specific skill sets and needs of family violence practitioners from a broad range of professional backgrounds.

Training to improve family violence practice

All planned and available training aimed at improving family violence practice can be accessed through our training for information sharing and MARAM page. We've also included a summary below.

Information sharing leader briefings

Department of Education and Training (DET) is offering Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms: Interactive Leaders Briefings. These are available to leaders in education workforces only.

Information sharing online learning modules

Online learning for the Child Information Sharing Scheme and Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, with an introduction to MARAM.

MARAM training

There are 6 face-to-face MARAM training modules which are being rolled out.

Leading and alignment

This 1-day training session is for managers, directors and CEOs from organisations and agencies prescribed under MARAM. The training will help managers lead and embed MARAM within their organisation.

Comprehensive renewing practice: CRAF to MARAM

This 1-day training focuses on working with victim survivors. This training is for professionals who work in a specialist capacity across the integrated service system. This training is only suitable for experienced family violence specialists who have extensive experience, and who have previously completed specialist CRAF training.

Comprehensive newer Family violence practice

This 2-day training focuses on working with victim survivors. This training is for professionals who work in a specialist capacity across the integrated service system

Collaborative practice

This 1-day training is relevant to all professionals who respond to family violence in Victoria. It's delivered across the 17 DHHS regions and focuses on collaborative practice and foundations of MARAM that enable collaboration.

The remaining MARAM training modules (5) 'Screening and Identification' and (6) 'Brief and Intermediate' and are being tailored and delivered via relevant departments. This will ensure consistency with different workforce approaches to MARAM.
Developing leadership capability for current sector leaders through initiatives that acknowledge and build on existing leadership capability is critical to meet the increasing demands of government reform and to support the health, safety and wellbeing of specialist family violence response and prevention practitioners.

Leadership intensives

The Future Social Service Institute (FSSI) have been funded by Family Safety Victoria to deliver twelve Leadership Intensives across Victoria in 2018-2019 to 255 sector leaders. The 2019 Leadership Intensives evaluation report included evidence that the intensives resulted in a diverse range of participant cognitive and behavioural changes and leadership capability improvements.

FSSI will host a further four, two-hour events in 2020. It is planned for the first three events to consist of a panel of experts discussing a leadership topic and their learning. Inspiring speakers from government, academia and the social service sector have included former Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon and Co-founder of Safe Schools, Roz Ward. The course content and structure emphasises the development of practical professional skills, with past topics including influential leadership; business and funding models for the new environment; building person-centred services; connecting with government; and, strategic communications.

For further information about the leadership intensives, email cwe@familysafety.vic.gov.au.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Framework

The Family Violence Health, Safety and Wellbeing Framework (the Framework) currently in development will guide the health, safety and wellbeing guidance and supports for the specialist family violence sector. For an update on the Framework, email cwe@familysafety.vic.gov.au.

Updated 28 May 2020