Building Bridges Forum 2026
NIFVS hosts the Building Bridges Forum, an annual event that brings together services and practitioners to learn from one another, share practice insights, and enhance cross-sector collaboration in line with the MARAM Framework.
About
Now in its third year, Building Bridges 2026 explores the theme, Shaping inclusive systems, calling on community and sector professionals to focus on what it means to intentionally centre the experiences, expertise and perspectives of marginalised and invisibilised communities in family violence work.
By designing responses with marginalised communities at the centre, outcomes are improved not only for those communities, but across the broader service system.
Building Bridges will be held in person on Thursday 20 August from 10 am to 4 pm at the Aborigines Advancement League in Thornbury.
Building Bridges is open to anyone working in an area with a role in addressing family violence. This includes those working in direct practice, leaders, advocates and policy makers.
What to expect?
Presentations – Hear from sector experts and practitioners who are developing innovative practice responses and contributing to more inclusive, accessible and responsive systems for marginalised communities.
Service stalls – Explore a selection of stalls from organisations and programs that are working directly with underserved communities.
Networking – Connect with colleagues, strengthen professional partnerships and be part of shaping more inclusive systems.
| Time | Session |
| 09:30am | Registrations open |
| 10:00am | Welcome to Country |
| 10:15am | Opening and setting the scene Ricki Spencer, MC |
| 10:30am | Opening Address The Hon. Ged Kearney, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for Prevention of Family Violence |
| 10:40am | Beyond the case file Flat Out |
| 11:40am | Morning break |
| 12:00pm | Allyship in Action: Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion in Violence Prevention and Response Zoe Belle Gender Collective & WHIN |
| 01:00pm | Lunch and Stall Networking |
| 02:00pm | Understanding risk and service inclusion when supporting priority communities Project Respect |
| 03:00pm | Afternoon break |
| 03:15pm | Commitment to Action: Towards a culturally responsive and accountable family violence sector Djirra, Elizabeth Morgan House & Safe and Equal |
| 03:50pm | Closing remarks Ricki Spencer, MC |
| 04:00pm | Forum closes |
Meet the speakers
Ricki Spencer
(she/her)
Master of Ceremonies
Ricki Spencer M.Ed. BSW. BA BEd. is a qualified teacher, lecturer and social worker. They are a public advocate for people living with a disability, for gender diverse people, and for people who experienced forced adoptions.
Ricki speaks openly about living with mental health issues and wellness, about ageing in public housing, and about psychiatric confinement and forced medications.
Ricki has over 30 years of experience working in welfare provision as a social worker, teacher, and health promotions facilitator, as well as National Social Work Curriculum Writer.
She is a member on multiple boards and associations across Australia and has been appointed to Our Equal State Reference Group 2025-2027 by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.
Ricki is an emerging researcher collaborating with federal and state government, as well as universities in health justice and cancer screening literacies.
Betty Buckrich
(she/her)
Flat Out
Family Violence Justice Project
Betty is the Family Violence Justice Project Worker and focuses on creating safer outcomes for criminalised survivors of Family Violence.
She approaches her work with a liberatory practice approach and believes strongly that our individual wellbeing is connected intrinsically to our collective health.
Samantha Guillerme
(she/her)
Flat Out
Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne (FIGJAM)
Samantha is a lived experience advocate, speaker, and emerging peer worker with personal experience of incarceration, substance use, and recovery. Her own journey has shaped a deep commitment to walking alongside others, challenging stigma, and creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued.
Samantha contributes her lived expertise to advocacy and community education while working to amplify the voices of women with experience of incarceration. She is passionate about promoting hope, dignity, connection, and opportunities for people to reclaim their identities and build fulfilling lives beyond the justice system.
Kelly Flanagan
(she/her)
Flat Out
Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne (FIGJAM)
Kelly is a proud Wiradjuri woman, First Nations artist, writer, and lived experience advocate whose work is shaped by survival, cultural strength, and a commitment to truth-telling.
She has lived experience of incarceration in the Victorian prison system.
Kelly now uses her voice to advocate for women who remain imprisoned, silenced, and unseen.
Carolyn Gowers
(she/her)
Project Respect
Executive Director
Carolyn is the Executive Director of Project Respect, a support and referral organisation for women and gender diverse people with experience in the sex industry, and for women and gender diverse people with experiences of sexual exploitation (including trafficking).
Carolyn brings experience in community services, the Victorian family violence sector, advocacy, leadership and systems design. Her work focuses on creating services and organisational cultures that work better for people whose voices and experiences are too often marginalised.
As a speaker and facilitator, Carolyn is committed to inclusion, access, gender equity, and lived experience leadership and voices. She brings a systems-level perspective grounded in social justice and practice wisdom, with a focus on how practitioners can create conditions for genuine choice, agency and safety.
Starlady
(she/her)
Zoe Belle Gender Collective
Director
Starlady is a queer trans woman/feminine person living on Dja Dja Wurrung Country and is the Director at the Zoe Belle Gender Collective. She is passionate about social justice, the prevention of gender based violence and dismantling trans misogyny. Starlady is the lead author and campaign director of Transfemme, a campaign and website promoting healthier relationships between trans women and cis men.
Tilly Mahoney
(she/her)
WHIN
Health Promotion Program Lead
Tilly is a public health professional with over seven years’ experience in gender equity, prevention of gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health. As Health Promotion Program Lead at Women’s Health In the North (WHIN), she coordinates workforce development, community engagement and strategic health promotion initiatives across Melbourne’s northern region. In her role, Tilly leads activities that focus on the meaningful inclusion of trans and gender diverse people in WHIN’s prevention of gender-based violence portfolio.
Skye Gooch
(she/her)
Djirra
Manager of Individual Support Service
Skye is a proud Kunja/Wiradjuri woman born and raised on Wurundjeri Country. Skye is a Social Worker who practices from an Indigenous Feminist framework and leads Djirra’s Statewide Specialist Family Violence Program, AOD Program, Prison Support Program, Flexible Support Package Program and Emergency Relief Program as the manager of the Individual Support Service.
Meet the stall holders
At Building Bridges 2026, you can explore a selection of stalls from organisations and programs that are working directly with underserved communities.
WHIN
WHIN is the women’s health promotion and advocacy organisation for the northern metropolitan region of Melbourne.
WHIN is a not-for-profit member-based organisation committed to improving the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people.
Zoe Belle Gender Collective
Zoe Belle Gender Collective is a trans and gender diverse-led advocacy organisation based in Victoria.
They work as dynamic leaders empowering trans and gender diverse communities to lead social change and fiercely advocate for justice.
Flat Out
Flat Out is a state-wide advocacy and support service for women, trans and gender diverse people (and their children) who have been criminalised.
They are an independent, not for profit, community-based organisation that aims to prevent women and trans and gender-diverse people from entering and returning to prison.
The Salvation Army – Additional Referral Pathway
Additional Referral Pathway (ARP) is a way for people to access support if they have experienced exploitation known as modern slavery.
ARP can provide free and confidential support, can help you understand rights and options of victims of modern slavery, they can offer free legal advice and help you with immediate safety and wellbeing needs.
Project Respect
Project Respect is an intersectional feminist, non-faith based organisation.
They are a specialised support and referral service for women and gender diverse people with experience in the sex industry, and for women and gender diverse people with experiences of sexual exploitation (including trafficking).
They advocates for women’s rights against violence, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Project Respect does not advocate for the ‘Nordic Model’. They support decriminalisation of the sex industry.
Thorne Harbour Health
Thorne Harbour Health is a community-controlled health organisation governed by members and accountable to the communities they serve.
They envision a world where our communities are healthy and live safely, with dignity and wellbeing.
Their mission is to deliver community-led and culturally appropriate health and wellbeing programs informed by and responsive to our communities, always advocating to reduce stigma and discrimination.
Djirra
Djirra is a place where culture is shared and celebrated and where practical support is available to all Aboriginal women and particularly to Aboriginal people who are currently experiencing family violence or have in the past.
As most of their contact is with women, the work they do is predominantly designed by and for Aboriginal women.
They are an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation governed by an Aboriginal Board of Directors who are elected by their members.
Centre for Multicultural Youth
The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) is a non-profit organisation based in Victoria and has been shaping culture alongside multicultural young people and communities since 1988. CMY works to address systemic barriers that impact multicultural young people.
Their work is youth-informed, strengths-based, and grounded in diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. At CMY, everyone plays a part in shaping systems, attitudes and behaviours that create the society we all deserve.
Northern Community Legal Centre and West Heidelberg Community Legal
Northern Community Legal Centre provides free legal services to people in Merri-bek, Hume and Mitchell Shire.
Their purpose is to ensure equal access to justice for all in Melbourne’s North-West and Northern growth corridors. They do this by the provision of legal services, community legal education and law reform to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in these areas.
West Heidelberg Community Legal offers free, confidential legal support for vulnerable community members.
They provide a range of free legal services for vulnerable people living in Banyule, including advice, information, and help with legal cases.
Register below or on the Building Bridges 2026 Humanitix page.
Supported tickets
We are committed to making this an inclusive event.
NIFVS is offering a number of supported tickets for individuals who would like to attend but need assistance with the registration cost.
To apply for a supported ticket, email [email protected] with a brief overview of your role, area of work and interest in attending the forum.
