The NIFVS team are excited to launch the Lunch & Learn pilot project.

Lunch & Learn will be delivered as free, 1-hour sessions throughout 2024, to strengthen the practice skills and confidence of professionals to safely and effectively respond to family violence.

The sessions will feature sector experts speaking to vital learning areas. Designed for both specialist and non-specialist family violence practitioners, Lunch & Learn particularly focuses on professionals who may want to learn more about navigating specialized areas of family violence in their roles.

The first session is on Wednesday 13 March from 12-1pm and will be led by Jackson Fairchild who will speak to LGBTIQA+ Safe and Inclusive Practice within the family violence context. Following a 30-minute presentation, participants will have the opportunity engage in a Q&A to unpack how this applies to practice.

Following sessions will address key learning areas including Elder Abuse, Working with Young People Using Violence, Complex Mental Health & Family Violence and Inclusive practice when working with people with disabilities. 

Register on Eventbrite here.

About Jackson:
Jackson Fairchild (they/them) is one of Australia’s leading voices in LGBTIQA+ inclusion in family violence primary prevention and response. They are a qualified counsellor and clinical supervisor with a background in facilitation, research translation, policy advocacy, governance and organisational change. Jackson has held senior roles at Rainbow Health Australia, No To Violence and Thorne Harbour Health, and they are currently working with the Zoe Belle Gender Collective on the prevention of cis men’s violence against trans women. 

No To Violence (NTV) has announced that MARAM training is now available for practitioners who need to have an applied understanding of MARAM and Information Sharing in their roles when working with adults using family violence.

NTV works with Family Safety Victoria (FSV) to deliver the training in 2024. There are three levels of training available:

• Identification: focussed on working with adults using family violence, this training is suitable for all professionals who may identify family violence is occurring and who engage with people in a one-off, episodic or ongoing service. You can find available dates and link to register here.
• Intermediate: suitable for all professionals who have an intermediate role when working with adults using family violence in both non-specialist and specialist services. You can find available dates and link to register here.
• Comprehensive: suitable for professionals requiring a specialist level of skill, knowledge and expertise in family violence practice with adults using family violence. Professionals who should attend this training include those providing specialist adult using family violence intervention services and programs. Examples include adult using family violence case management, behaviour change programs, crisis response services, specialist targeted programs, The Orange Door, or any other response that works with adults using family violence in a specialist capacity. You can find available dates and link to register here.

People are encouraged to attend the MARAM Victim Survivor training first. All training is currently offered online, but you can contact NTV at MARAM@ntv.org.au if you require in-person sessions.

(Source: No To Violence website)

The Good Shepherd invites you to attend a brief webinar to showcase their national programs, No Interest Loans (NILs) and the Financial Independence Hub (FIH). You will be provided with free tools to promote these services to clients and you will learn about benefits of each service, support provided, eligibility requirements and other information.

The webinars are repeated monthly. The next session will be on Thursday 15 February from 11am to 12pm AEST.

You can register for the February webinar as well as upcoming sessions here.

The Safe and Equal ‘MARAM Comprehensive Risk Assessment and Management – adapted for the legal sector‘ training is for non-prescribed practitioners who are working within legal services and come into contact with individuals and families experiencing family violence.

The training will be co-delivered by Safe and Equal and Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC).

Upcoming sessions are Monday 5 & 12 February 2024 from 9.15 am to 4.45 pm.

You can find more information and register here.  

(Source: Safe and Equal newsletter, 25.02.2024)

Late last year, the Victorian Government launched Strong Foundations: Building on Victoria’s work to end family violence. The document tells Victorian communities what the government has done so far, what still needs to be done and the five key priorities that will drive the work over the next three years:

• Drive down family and sexual violence
• Focus on children and young people
• Strengthen support for victim survivors
• Respond to change
• Understand and demonstrate our impact

The Victorian Government has prepared a consultation survey, which asks about the actions that should be a priority for the next three years. All communities are invited to complete the survey by Sunday 4 February 2024.

The feedback will help the government develop the Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2024 – 2026.

Welcome to the NIFVS newsletter – the first for 2024.

Happy New Year to you all. May the year ahead provide opportunities for achievement and change.

Women and gender diverse people are still experiencing violence perpetrated against them. They are still battling financial crises with cost-of-living challenges and a lack of affordable housing. And, they experience multiple barriers to accessing the services they require.

As a sector, we embark upon many challenges in 2024, including to our service delivery, our funding and within our workforces.

We are lucky to work within a highly capable, experienced and dedicated sector here in the northern metro Melbourne.

Following the development and final approval of the NIFVS Strategic Plan for 2023- 26 last year, the Regional Integration Family Violence Services Committee will meet in early 2024 to confirm a new governance structure for the year ahead.

I am excited about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to working with our dedicated Family Violence service sector to address family violence and it impacts on victim survivors.

I wish you all the best for the coming year.

Kind regards,

Helen Riseborough
Chairperson
Northern Integrated Family Violence Committee

“The Northern Integrated Family Violence Service (NIFVS), though the Regional Integration Committee, provides family violence system leadership across Melbourne’s NMR (Northern Metropolitan Region) to increase the safety of victim survivors, accountability of people who use violence, and strengthen Victoria’s family violence reforms.”

Dear All

What a huge year 2023 has been and we now find ourselves at that time of year where we sit back and reflect on the time that has passed: the successes, the achievements, the lessons learned.

2023 has been a fruitful year for the Northern Integrated Family Violence Services (NIFVS) partnership, starting from the formation of a new team; we welcomed a new MARAMIS and Workforce Development Coordinator and Communications and Program Support Officer.

As a new team we have worked hard to achieve many of the priorities identified across both the 2022.23 and 2023.24 NIFVS Annual Action Plans in 2023.

Some highlights from this year include:

• Development of the new 2023.26 3-year NIFVS Strategic Plan (to be launched in 2024) that aligns with the latest Family Violence Regional Integration Committee guidelines and five statewide strategic family violence priorities.
• Launch of the Regional Victim Survivor Experience Mapping Report and the ‘Turning Input into Action’ Forum held on 30 March 2023 and attended by 60 organisational leaders from across the NMR. The report ensures that victim survivor’s voices are heard and has informed all key decision making undertaken across the region by NIFVS in 2023.
• Continued roll out and delivery of NIFVS training, including MARAM Collaborative Practice and delivery of ‘Introduction to Family Violence Sector’ sessions to a wide range of prescribed Tier 3 and 4 workforces and non-prescribed organisations who regularly work with and support victim survivors (including children) experiencing or recovering from family violence.
• Delivery of the 2023 Family Violence and Sexual Assault Graduate Program in partnership with Kids First Australia.
• Implementation of system responsive changes to NMR Counselling Support Alliance enhancing referral pathways, therapeutic recovery responses and outcomes for victim survivors of family violence across the region.
• Bringing together the Family Violence Networks across the NMR to better understand common themes and issues across the region at a local area level.
• Supporting system changes to adopt practices that align with the new Family Violence Crisis Response Model that ensures that crisis responses are consistent, clearly communicated, and jointly managed by regional family violence services.
• Supporting system changes and adopting the ‘no wrong door’ approach opening referral pathways for victim survivors of family violence.
• Recently undertaking the first NMR MARAMIS Survey for prescribed practitioners. Report and findings will be launched in early 2024.

We would like to acknowledge the incredible work that is undertaken by all our family violence and sexual assault partners and workforces across the NMR. Without your dedication to the work the system would not be as agile and responsive to the needs of victim survivors of family violence.

Looking forward into 2024:

• Launch of the MARAM Alignment Survey Report and the Strategic Plan 2023-2026.
• Launch of the 2024 annual MARAMIS Alignment survey which will be open for 6 weeks as of March 2024. All family violence and sexual assault workers are encouraged to participate in the survey as the outcomes will allow the building of an evidence base for practice, advocacy, and regional service system reform.
• Commencement of planning for ‘Phase 2’ of the Victim Survivor Experience Mapping for the NMR.
• Innovative and exciting changes to the approach in which the NIFVS Team records and disseminates information to enhance the accessibility of information to all workforces working with victim-survivors and people who use violence.

The NIFVS Partnership and team would like to wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Christmas and safe New Year and we look forward to working with you all in 2024.

Warm regards,

Veronica Hunt

Principal Strategic Advisor
Northern Integrated Family Violence Services

NMR Group Work Calendar Term 1, 2024

Each school term, the Northern Integrated Family Violence Services (NIFVS) partnership produces a calendar of family violence support groups run by organisations in the northern metropolitan region. Support groups include therapeutic groups for victim survivors, supported playgroups, parenting groups and perpetrator intervention programs. Some groups are ongoing and some are shorter term.

This calendar includes groups being run in Term 1, 2024.