This week we opened registrations for the annual FRSA Member Only Strategic Leadership Forum being held in Canberra on 10-11 September 2024.  With news coming out of Canberra yesterday that we are likely to see a re-shuffle of the Albanese Ministerial line up, the sense of ‘pre-election mode movement’ has been cemented. As we had been anticipating, September is certainly an opportune time for CEOs and Senior Leaders to be gathering as a network and to be meeting with Federal MPs and Senators.

Earlier this week the National Elder Abuse Conference was held in Adelaide, and it was good to see a number of FRSA members presenting as part of the Conference line-up.   While government investment in elder abuse services and supports has not been as strong as we would like to see – particularly for the early intervention supports offered by FRSA members – there were a number of promising signals this week delivered in the Address provided by the Attorney General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP.  Finding more holistic, social and justice-based solutions for addressing elder abuse is definitely on the Government’s radar. I also point readers to the Evaluation of the National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Australians 2019-2023, which was recently released (see below).

Encouraging news on progress in preventing violence against women and children was announced today with the national tracker from Our Watch showing that efforts to prevent violence against women are having a positive impact on rates of violence (see below).

In this bulletin you will also see a great snapshot of the NAIDOC week celebrations throughout the FRSA network. Here in Canberra, Robyn and I attended the ANU Reconciliation Lecture delivered by Ms Selina Walker, Ngunnawal woman and respected emerging elder and leader who is also the ACT’s Local Hero in the Australian of the Year Awards 2024.  She reminded us that the reconciliation journey sometimes means sitting with uncomfortable feelings and recognising that there is no one right way of doing things.  Using the memorable analogy of multiple lanes at the Macca’s drive thru, Selina said:

“Be critical of yourself, are you trying to force them [Aboriginal peoples] to come into your lane or do you maybe need to jump into that other Macca lane cuz it’s still the same outcome it’s just a different way to get there”.

Don’t forget to check out the First Nations webinar series that we will be running from mid-August to November – register now!

As mentioned in last week’s eBulletin, we have received funding to continue to deliver the Communities of Practice for FaC Activity programs we have been delivering for the last two years.  Just a reminder we are running a ‘Call for Expressions of Interest” until the end of next week.

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

Registrations for the FRSA Strategic Leadership Forum 2024 are now open! 

The dates are set for 10-11 September 2024 in Canberra. Click the button below to access the registration website. This is an FRSA Members only event.

We are working to build a program that provides CEOs and Senior Managers with the most relevant and most contemporary news and information of importance to the Family and Relationship Services sector.

Believe it or not – we are already in ‘pre-election’ mode – with the earliest date an election can be held (half-Senate and House of Representatives) being 3 August 2024 and the latest being 17 May 2025.  So – it is important for the sector to be on the front foot with our political leaders and the Government agencies in delivering vital information about the ongoing value and importance of the Family and Relationship Services Sector.

To assist you in making your arrangements to attend whilst we finalise the program:

Day 1:  Tuesday, 10 September 2024
Location: National Portrait Gallery, Parkes Way, Canberra
Start time: 10am
End time: 5pm
Networking event – 5.30-6:30pm (venue – TBA)

Day 2:  Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Parliamentary Briefing Day – small group visits with Parliamentarians
Location:  Australian Parliament House
Start time: 9am
End time: 2pm (Dependent on when your final meeting is scheduled)

Access to the event details including the event program, speaker information and accommodation will be available on the FRSA Members Only Event page.

Please contact events@frsa.org.au for the password to the FRSA Member’s Only Event page.

FRSA is excited to revisit presentations from the FRSA National Conference 2024 via this lunchtime webinar series from August to November.

The presentations we’re showcasing are delivered by or in partnership with First Nations peoples, in this webinar series, which will be delivered over the next few months. The six presentations are from the Children at the Centre, Across the lifecourse and Schooling years streams.

Click the presentation title to register for the webinar.

In this week’s video we spoke to Brian McDowell, Director of Services at Family Life in Victoria

The Attorney-General’s Department has just published a fact sheet for parents and parties on the Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023, which recently came into effect.

The new law will provide the family law courts with stronger powers to request information about any risks to family safety. This will support the courts to consider the facts in a parenting matter and make orders that are in the child’s best interest. The changes will apply to all new and existing parenting matters. An information sharing order can be issued at any time during a proceeding, including after a final hearing has commenced.

The fact sheet has been translated into 11 languages. All versions of the fact sheet are available here.

The Australian Government has commenced roll out of funding to state and territories and the non-government school sector to support delivery of evidence-based respectful relationships education in schools, as well as professional development for teachers.

States and territories and the non-government school sector will decide how to invest this funding to best meet local needs. Implementation of the respectful relationships education activities will be guided by the National Respectful Relationships Education Expert Working Group.

Federal Minister for education, Jason Clare, said, “This investment is important in making sure we help our youngest Australians, in particular young boys and men, to have healthy, respectful relationships.”

Respectful relationships education complements the Government’s national consent campaign, launched in May, which helps adults be informed and understand consent so that they feel comfortable and confident having conversations with young people.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a web report on Child Protection in Australia.

This report provides an overview of children in the child protection system in 2022–23, including children subject to notifications, investigations, and substantiations of maltreatment, and the ways children were supported. Over the next 12 months, quarterly updates will be made to the report to include content specifically focussing on the safety of children in care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the system and pathways from out-of-home care.

Findings:

• In 2022–23, about 180,000 children came into contact with the system, an increase from about 178,000 in 2021–22
• Between 2018–19 and 2022–23, the rate of children who were subjects of notifications increased from 48 to 51 per 1,000
• Between 2018–19 and 2022–23, the rate of children with substantiations remained relatively stable around 8.0 per 1,000
• Between 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2023, the rate of children in out-of-home care remained stable around 8.0 per 1,000.

The web report is available here.

The evaluation of the National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Australians 2019-2023, which was undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) on behalf of the Attorney-General’s Department, has been released.

The evaluation has found the key policy framework for tackling this abuse, the National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Australians (Elder Abuse) 2019-2023 is achieving its aims of uniting governments, agencies and organisations in tackling the abuse of older people.

The evaluation highlights a range of important achievements under the National Plan, including the delivery of Australia’s first National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study, funding of innovative service responses, and a range of awareness raising initiatives.

It also found that more work is needed to build on these efforts, including a greater focus on prevention and early intervention activities, and on the needs of our diverse older population.

The Evaluation Report is available here.

New research from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) will inform approaches to intervening with domestic violence offenders who are at high-risk of perpetrating intimate partner homicide.

The Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, announced the release of the AIC report noting that it reviews recent research on intimate partner homicide to understand whether grievances and fixation play a role in motivating violence against women. The AIC research explores whether and how a model designed to intervene with fixated individuals – Fixated Threat Assessment Centres (FTACs), an approach first introduced in the UK to assess and manage lone-actor fixated individuals  – could be applied to the prevention of intimate partner homicide.

The report, Targeting fixated individuals to prevent intimate partner homicide: Proposing the Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centre, is available on the AIC website.

Released today, the national tracker from Our Watch, the national organisation for preventing violence against women and their children, found a significant 66% decline in women killed by men’s violence over the past three decades, and a decline in the harmful attitudes that drive violence over the past 20 years.

The national tracker report card found:

• significant reductions in the proportion of women experiencing physical violence in the previous 12 months from all perpetrators including intimate partners, since 2012
• significant improvements in Australians’ understanding of violence against women, attitudes rejecting gender inequality, and attitudes rejecting sexual violence between 2013 to 2021 (most recent data)
• a 13% decline in young men supporting harmful ideas of masculinity over the last five years
• a decline from 49% to 37% in young men feeling pressure to conform to rigid ideals of masculinity over the last five years
• a plateau in attitudes rejecting domestic violence between 2017 to 2021
• an increase in sexual violence between 2012-2017 with no significant change since.

While encouraging news, Our Watch CEO Patty Kinnersly noted that much more work is needed, reflecting that “zero is the only acceptable number of gender-based homicides and there is still significant work to do if we want to see violence against women rapidly decline.”

The Report Card: Tracking progress in the primary prevention of violence against women, is available on the Our Watch website.

The Australian Government has tabled the final report of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into philanthropy in Australia: Future foundations for giving.

The report makes several recommendations to strengthen the foundations of philanthropy, supporting the Government’s goal of doubling giving by 2030.

These include an overhaul of the Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) system, which determines the charities that are eligible to receive tax-deductible donations.

The inquiry included consultation with more than 3,000 submissions and comments. Two weeks of public hearings were held in February, featuring representation from more than 50 interest groups including Commonwealth, state and territory governments, the philanthropic, not-for-profit and business sectors and the general public.

The report sets out a range of proposals for short- and long-term reform. The Government will now consider the recommendations.

The report and information about the inquiry can be accessed on the Productivity Commission’s website.

The Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council met virtually on 5 July 2024.

Items on the agenda included:

• How the Council can further support work to accelerate change in ending gender-based violence being led by the National Cabinet following its meeting on gender-based violence on 1 May 2024.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family, domestic and sexual violence & Activities Addendum
• Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program
• Yearly Report to Parliament by the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission
• Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality

A communique providing more detail on the above agenda items is available here.

The Government has announced that the new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) will commence on 14 October 2024, replacing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The current AAT will cease operations when the ART commences. The role of the current AAT and the incoming ART is to provide independent review of administrative decisions – for example, decisions made by Centrelink, child support decisions and migration decisions. Legislation to abolish the AAT and replace it with the ART passed the Parliament in May 2024.

The Government announced reform to Australia’s system of administrative review on 16 December 2022, and subsequently undertook public consultation to ensure an approach that was fair and transparent, including a transparent, merit-based system of appointments. One of the principal concerns driving reform was political stacking of the Tribunal – that is, appointments to the Tribunal based on political connections rather than merit.

Earlier this month, we celebrated NAIDOC Week and the 2024 theme which was Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. The theme is a call to honour the enduring spirit of First Nations cultures and an invitation to stand in solidarity with First Nations communities and amplify the voices that represent them.

See how FRSA Members around the country honoured and celebrated the week:

• Family Life staff attended flag raising events at the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association and the Nairm Marr Djambana. And they attended Nairm Marr Djambana’s Annual NAIDOC Dinner.
• Better Place Australia staff held a morning tea to celebrate the week.
• Relationships Australia WA staff held a NAIDOC lunch session with Dr. Roma Winmar, a Noongar elder and passionate advocate for Indigenous education, language, and arts. Their teammembers also attended events including Butler College’s NAIDOC Expo, Merriwa’s Mookaroo Festival, the City of Armadale’s NAIDOC Festival, and Mirrabooka’s NAIDOC Event.
• MacKillop Family Services staff marched in Melbourne in the annual NAIDOC community march in honour of the week.
• Gateway Health’s CEO Trent Dean reflected on their involvement in this year’s celebrations in Wodonga and Wangaratta.
• Odyssey House Victoria celebrated by wearing NAIDOC themed t-shirts and hoodies designed by Aboriginal residents and clients. This year’s design was created by several residents from the Hope Centre near Bairnsdale and was in response to this year’s NAIDOC theme. Staff and residents from their residential Circuit Breaker program near Benalla attended some NAIDOC Week celebrations at Mansfield and Benalla. Their Footscray team ran a Decolonise Yourself session using Aretha Brown’s Ally resource cards. And their Lower Plenty residential community celebrated NAIDOC week with a number of activities.
• OzChild staff attended local NAIDOC week events throughout the week.
• Kyabra Community Association Inc celebrated the week by hearing stories from elders in their community and experiencing a smoking ceremony.
• Anglicare Sydney celebrated the week across their locations; in Moree, they were the sponsor of the Official NAIDOC Week opening, which included the traditional street march and address and the raising of the flag. At Liverpool Anglicare Uncle Robby delivered the Acknowledgement of Country at a NAIDOC event. Reconciliation Action Manager Jamie Upton spoke to Anglicare staff and community members about the importance of NAIDOC Week and the focus on positive outcomes for First Nations people. In Nowra, Anglicare staff hosted a stall at the Shoalhaven NAIDOC family fun day. And at the Penrith NAIDOC 2024 event they had a stall and painting activities for the kids.
• Manning Support Services attended NAIDOC events in Forster, Wauchope, Taree and Gloucester.
• CatholicCare Wollongong celebrated at the Shoalhaven and Koonawarra NAIDOC Week events.
• Relationships Australia Canberra & Region staff took part in events throughout the week including the ACT NAIDOC Ball, NAIDOC in the North, the headspace Batemans Bay Art and Yarn Circle as well as the ‘In My Blood it Runs’ Movie viewing, RivMed’s NAIDOC Celebration, NAIDOC at Ashmont; and their headspace Wagga team, Yarrawandhu took part in the NAIDOC Deadly 3X3 Basketball.
• Interrelate hosted and joined nearly 20 events across New South Wales, planning morning teas, setting up stalls and making activities for kids.
• Mission Australia teams took part in NAIDOC events in Cairns, Tiagara, Coffs Harbour, Forster, North South Australia and Toowoomba.
• Centacare NQ’s BRIDGE and HIPPY teams attended the Under 5s event hosted by Ngukuthati Children and Family Centre in Mount Isa.
• Community First Step took part in the annual NAIDOC Week Family Fun Day on Tuesday at Fairfield Showground, organised by Fairfield City Council.
• Anglicare NT celebrated with a Welcome to Country, flag raising ceremony, cultural activities and community events around the territory. Their staff also took part in the Darwin NAIDOC march.
• CatholicCare Hunter-Manning sponsored the Awabakal Newcastle NAIDOC Community Day and took part in the NAIDOC event in Forster.
• YFS celebrated NAIDOC across the community in Logan, Beaudesert, Redlands and at Bond University.
• Anglicare NSW South, NSW West & ACT’s Ashmont Community Resource Centre kept the fires burning during their annual NAIDOC Week celebration. Local elders, community members and the Anglicare team gathered around a yarning fire and participated in a traditional smoking ceremony.
• The Salvation Army spoke to Chris Congoo The Salvation Army Territorial Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator in Townsville, who explained why NAIDOC is a special week for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and for the wider Australian society to “celebrate our shared culture and the achievements and the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.”
• Lutheran Care participated in the NAIDOC in the North event, at the John McVeity Centre. They shared details about South Australian Indigenous owned and operated businesses and organisations, as well as some delicious recipes featuring traditional food and native ingredients. They also share the story of Narungga and Ngadjuri Elder, Quenten Agius.
• Anglicare Southern Queensland held a number of events during the week from cooking demonstrations and morning teas, to story time, dancing and art and craft; through these events and activities.
• Communicare started the week by hosting a stall at the Perth NAIDOC Week Opening Ceremony in Moort-ak Waadiny (Wellington Square). They then welcomed Aunty Tina Hayden, who showed them how to make traditional damper. They spent time yarning and sharing stories about how Elders used to prepare and enjoy damper.
• Parkerville Children and Youth Care’s ‘Hand-in-Hand’ playgroup joined with Kindilink and Brookman Kindy to celebrate NAIDOC week and held a bonfire at their campus.
• Centrecare Inc celebrated the week at a variety of events. Their Joondalup office celebrated with Damper and practiced language whilst sharing stories. They had a stall at the Mirrabooka NAIDOC event and together with the Family Support Network Team they participated in the NAIDOC event at the Jacaranda Community Centre and the Perth NAIDOC week opening ceremony. They also were part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations at the Armadale Champion Centre. Their Kalgoorlie branch also made a video of all the events they were apart of during the week.
• Ngala Kensington facility’s NAIDOC Week event included a Smoking Ceremony, a didgeridoo performance playing, hearing stories and wisdom shared by guests, Vanessa Corunna and Dakota Baker and trying Bushtukka-inspired food. Watch the video below:

FRSA invites program managers and senior practitioners from providers of the five programs below, which are funded under the Department’s ‘Families and Children’ Activity, to express their interest in joining our online Community of Practice (CoP) discussions:

• Family & Relationship Services (FaRS)
• Specialised Family Violence Services (SFVS)
• Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS)
• Child & Parenting Services (CaPS)/Budget Based Funded (BBF)
• Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FP)

To express your interest in participating in a CoP, please follow this link.

Note: if you have been participating in one of the CoP groups over 2023-24 you do not need to register your interest.

If you have any questions about the CoPs please contact the CoPs Project Officer, Lisa Curtis on 02 6162 1811 or projects@frsa.org.au

Expressions of interest close COB Friday 2 August 2024.

These CoP sessions are delivered with the support of the Australian Institute of Family Studies and funded by the Department of Social Services.

ACOSS is surveying people receiving income support payments (including JobSeeker and Youth Allowance) about their adequacy to meet basic costs.

The survey will be used to prepare a report that will be shared with the media and politicians to build awareness of the struggles faced by people receiving JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and related payments.

The results of the survey will remain anonymous and none of your personal information will be disclosed without your express consent. Click here to complete the survey. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to ACOSS at raisetherate@acoss.org.au.

Homelessness Week is on 5-11 August 2024. The week is hosted by Homelessness Australia to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness, and the solutions needed to end homelessness.

The theme for Homelessness Week 2024 is “Homelessness Action Now”.

Download a Homelessness Week action pack, resources or submit your event on the Homelessness Australia website.

If you have any events you’d like listed on the FRSA Events and Training Calendar or job vacancies you’d like listed on the FRSA Jobs Board, email Communications Officer, Vanessa Lam at communications@frsa.org.au. Please note that posting onto the FRSA website is reserved for FRSA Members only.

If you have an news item or event that you would like to be featured in a future eBulletin please submit your announcement via the form below or email communications@frsa.org.au with the subject “FRSA eBulletin submission”.

Please note FRSA members receive priority for items posted in the eBulletin. And to keep information current, relevant and useful, submissions will not be repeated from week to week.