The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has tabled the report of its inquiry into family violence orders. A response from the Australian Government to the Committee’s 11 recommendations is expected in six months. The report is available here.
Check out the SHSN report from the 2024 Networking Forum to see participants’ feedback, read the Forum presentations and notes from our Lived Experience Panel and notes from the workshops.
Thanks again to everyone who helped make this such a memorable event.
Commissioned by the Koori Justice Unit, in collaboration with Victim Services, Support and Reform at the Department of Justice and Community Safety, and overseen by a Project Steering Committee with representatives from Djirra, Dardi Munwurro and Elizabeth Morgan House as formal project partners, as well as from the Aboriginal Engagement Worker (formerly known as Koori Engagement Worker) network. This report underscores the need for culturally safe, holistic, and wrap-around support that responds to the needs of Aboriginal victims of crime.
The Responsible Men (RM) program is a DFV men’s behaviour change program (MBCP), designed for men aged 18 years and older, who use violence or other controlling behaviours in their intimate relationships. The RM program supports men around taking responsibility to change their attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, and decision-making without using violence. The overarching purpose of the RM program is to improve the safety of women and children through men’s attitudinal and behaviour change, including accountability for their choice to use physical and non-physical forms of DFV. The program aims to support men towards positive, ethical changes for safe, respectful, and healthy relationships.
Find the evaluation report here
We are delighted to share with you the report on the inaugural national Healing and Recovery Roundtable, held in June 2025 and co-convened by the Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery Alliance and the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission. The Roundtable was attended by lived experience victim-survivor advocates, DFSV practitioners, researchers, policy makers and representatives from key organisations working in the DFSV sector. We look forward to their recommendations informing actions to implement the Recovery pillar of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.
“I am pleased to share with you an overview of our work over the last 12 months. We are proud to have contributed to a growing body of evidence in priority areas intended to help Australian families in all their diversity.” Liz Neville, A/g Director AIFS
The Consent Matters evaluation report on the pilot program aimed at expanding relationships and sexuality education for young people beyond mainstream educational settings.
Find the evaluation report here
Framing the Future the second three-year rolling action plan under Building from strength: 10-Year Industry Plan for Family Violence Prevention and Response is now available online.
Framing the Future will continue to develop the specialisation of the family violence, primary prevention and sexual assault workforces through providing clearer education and training pathways, improving support for early career workers, creating more varied specialisation pathways as workers progress in their careers and improving options for experienced practitioners to move between service types.
The plan reflects strong collaboration with family violence and sexual assault peak bodies and employers as well as opportunities to connect shared workforce development opportunities and challenges across community services – this includes children and families, disability and housing and homelessness.
It addresses critical vacancies and building better career pathways, with a focus on retaining the workforce.
This project reveals that engagement is a nuanced process influenced by readiness, motivation, referral pathways, and support systems. It aims to inform future advancements in these programs to enhance victim-survivor safety, improve perpetrator engagement and accountability, and ultimately to reduce repetition of abusive behaviours and escalation of family violence. In highlighting the importance of individualised support and post-program engagement, the study advocates for a more cohesive and supportive approach towards program design and delivery.
“As survivors, we know what could have helped us, we know what hurt us.“
Efforts to protect children from abuse which do not centre the wisdom of people who were abused as children themselves are fundamentally limited in their effectiveness.
‘Emma’s Project’ was always the temporary name for a much more collective effort for the protection of children, guided by the shared wisdom of survivors of sexual abuse during childhood.
After having read every single word from every single person who responded to the survey – three times over – ACF have a roadmap forward.
It is with pride that ACF share their survivor-renamed Our Collective Experience Project, and our first report from it: Hear us now, act now.
We encourage you to download, read and share this report with people you know who may be interested in the protection of children. The content of the report which includes extensive quotes from survivors is very powerful.