It was great to gather with over 70 representatives from across the FRSA member network last week in Canberra for our annual Strategic Leadership Forum.  If you look at the picture story below, I hope you get a sense of the level of engagement, involvement and intensity of conversations and discussions over the two days.

The Attorney-General did attend a breakfast with delegates on Wednesday 12 September announcing the release of the FRSP Review Report.  This is the long-anticipated Review conducted by lead reviewer, Mr Andrew Metcalfe AO looking at the future of the Commonwealth funded suite of family law services under the Family and Relationships Services Program.  The resounding message arising out of the Report is just how important that program is for supporting families going through separation by providing a universal, no or low cost, less adversarial suite of services.  This was great affirmation for the program.  This messaging was reinforced by the Attorney-General at the breakfast.

The government has committed to a period of further consultation with the sector and other interested stakeholders whilst it considers and develops a response to the Review Report.  FRSA is working with the Department to deliver a specific FRSA member network webinar, including the Australian Institute of Family Studies which was commissioned by the Department to develop the technical report. This will be held on Thursday, 3 October at 11am (AEST) for 90 minutes. Stay tuned for more details next week.

The Department will also be inviting written responses to the report as part of their consultation process with written submissions due to the Department by 30 October 2024.  They will be sending details about that process out shortly.

On a different note, we did go out to FRSA Members earlier this week advising that the process for nominating for FRSA Board Director positions was open.  If you are a FRSA member and have not seen or received this information – please do not hesitate to be in touch.

I am about to take a bit of a break over the next few weeks and wish to advise that Robyn Clough, FRSA’s Manager of Policy and Research will be Acting ED during my absence – policy@frsa.org.au or phone 02) 6162 1811.  She will be acting from Thursday 26 September through until Friday 25 October 2024.

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

Last week, CEOs and Senior Leaders in the FRSA Network gathered in Canberra – Ngunnawal Country – for FRSA’s annual Strategic Leadership Forum (SLF).

On Day 1 delegates had the opportunity to hear thought provoking presentations from Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, Families Australia CEO, Jamie Crosby and Managing Director at Hawker Britton, Simon Banks, as well as updates from the Department of Service Social Services and the Attorney-General’s Department. The day wrapped up with a networking event providing members with the opportunity to connect and share ideas and priorities.

Day 2 started with a breakfast where Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP spoke to recent family law reform and announced that the final report of the Family Relationships Services Program (FRSP) review would be released later that morning. Following the breakfast delegates took to Parliament House for the rest of day to meet with politicians from across the country. In total, members met with 58 of our nation’s leaders.

Check out some photos from the meetings between delegates and Politicians shared via social, including meetings with Senator Jana Stewart, Mark Coulton MP, Michael McCormack MP and David Smith MP.

Register today for the third webinar in our First Nations focus on Family and Relationship services series, Message Stick Action Research Project presented by Jack Archibald and Lachlan Skinner from Interrelate on Wednesday, 19 September 2024 at 12:30PM-1:15PM (AEDT)

View the full webinar schedule below:

If you missed the second webinar in our First Nations focus on Family and Relationship services series, Cultural Supervision – Safe yarning presented by Tara Farmer and Dwayne Hayden from Centrecare, you can watch the recording now:

The presentation explored how Cultural Supervision has been implemented within Centrecare’s organisation to help develop, promote and embed cultural safety and understanding. With Cultural Lead positions established to support supervision for staff in identified programs across the Perth metro and regional areas including the Goldfields and South-West region of Western Australia.

Read FRSA’s latest media release welcoming the release of the Family Relationships Services Program (FRSP) Review.

“Since its inception in 2006, the FRSP has played a pivotal role in providing non-adversarial alternatives to costly litigation, helping families navigate the difficult process of separation with dignity and safety. The FRSP’s focus on reducing conflict, prioritising children’s best interests, and providing therapeutic support has been central to its success. We are pleased to see the review recognise the value of these services,” FRSA Executive Director, Jackie Brady said.

Read the full media release

In this week’s video we spoke to Peter Butler, Community Partnership Specialist at Communicare in Western Australia.

ACOSS has released a new report showing that people on income support payments are forced to cut back on meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, and essential medications.

The Raise the Rate Survey 2024 report surveyed 760 people receiving JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and related income support to gauge how people are managing to get by on payments well below all measures of adequacy. People report being isolated, embarrassed, sick and dejected because they do not have enough money.

Key findings:

• Even with Rent Assistance, income support payments are inadequate to cover the cost of private rental. Of the 410 people who reported renting privately and how much they pay in rent (54% of survey respondents), 94% are in housing stress,
  paying more than 30% of their income in rent alone. 52% reported paying more than half of their income on rent.
• 298 respondents in private rental reported receiving a rent increase in the past 12 months, with 70% receiving a rise of more than $20 a week, and 42% reporting an increase of over $40 a week.
• The inadequacy of income support payments harms people’s mental and physical health. More than eight in 10 respondents said that receiving income support
  negatively affected their physical health, and nine in ten said it negatively affected their mental health. Three quarters said they could not access healthcare and
  medicine because they cannot afford it.
• Sufficient food is a discretionary item for people receiving income support. More than two thirds of people reported reducing their intake of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and other expensive items, with 64% stating that they skipped meals or ate less to get by (or both).
• People go to great lengths to pay their energy bills. 68% reported reducing their use of heating and cooling to afford energy bills, and 59% said they go without food or medicine to be able to pay their energy bill. 31% said that they have an energy debt. More than 100 respondents stated that they expected to go into energy debt once their next bill arrived.
• It is very difficult to afford a car on income support. Most survey respondents said they have a car (69%), but 81% of car owners said that they do not use it as much as they would like because they do not have enough money, and a further 9% reported they had stopped using it entirely. 75 people said they had given up their car because they could not afford it whilst receiving income support

Read the full report.

On 18 September 2024 the Productivity Commission released its report on the inquiry into early childhood education and care.

The report presents government with a roadmap to a high-quality universal early childhood education and care system that is accessible, within the means of all families, equitable and inclusive for all children. This system would ensure every child aged 0-5 has access to high-quality ECEC for at least 30 hours or three days a week, for 48 weeks of the year.

Key points covered in the report include:

• Early childhood education and care (ECEC) can improve outcomes for children – particularly those experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability – throughout their lives and deliver net community benefits.
• ECEC services already play a major role in the lives of many young children and their families but those who would benefit most are missing out.
• Addressing affordability barriers should be a priority for reform.
• All families with children aged 0–5 years who choose to use ECEC should be able to access at least 30 hours or three days a week of high-quality ECEC, for 48 weeks a year.
• State governments should facilitate the provision of outside school hours care for children aged 5–12 years in public schools, wherever there is sustainable demand.
• Quality is paramount to achieving the benefits of ECEC. Regulators should be adequately resourced to deliver timely assessments of service quality, take action to tackle persistently poor quality and support continuous quality improvement.
• Addressing workforce challenges is a priority for expanding the availability of ECEC.
• All children, regardless of their characteristics or circumstances, should be welcomed and included in ECEC.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are under-represented in ECEC. Aboriginal community-controlled organisations require a sustainable funding model, which recognises their knowledges and expertise to deliver the ECEC priorities of their communities.
• An independent ECEC Commission should be established to support, advise and monitor governments’ progress towards universal access to ECEC.

The report and information about the consultation process are available here.

The Government has announced it has commissioned a national survey of the family, domestic and sexual violence workforce to improve supports for victim-survivors.

$1.39 million has been committed under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 First Action Plan Priorities Fund to develop a National Family Domestic and Sexual Violence Workforce Survey.

The survey will be delivered by the Social Research Centre in partnership with The Australian Centre for Social Innovation and aims to build a national picture of the national FDSV workforce by gaining a broader understanding of its nature, breadth and capabilities.

It will provide a comprehensive evidence base reflecting the current strengths and issues facing the national family, domestic and sexual violence workforce, and will help governments to focus future efforts to improve workforce capacity and capability.

The survey will be completed in late 2026 and will look at features including job types, qualifications, recruitment and retention, work conditions and remuneration, and workforce shortages.

Renters in Australia continue to face inconsistent tenancy laws and an ongoing lack of protection, says a new report released by National Shelter and the National Association of Renters’ Organisations (NARO).

The report by National Shelter and the National Association of Renters’ Organisations (NARO) assessed the progress of States and Territories against their commitments of the National Cabinet reforms. It found inconsistent application of the element of the Better Deal for Renters, and that some jurisdictions have failed to meet their obligations. The report also recommends areas requiring attention including the need for fair rent increases and capping the amount of the increases, adequately funding tenancy advice and advocacy services, and better data to inform policy. Read the full report

Last week the Attorney-General’s Department released resources to help young people recognise and combat coercive control.

These resources are designed to assist them and their loved ones to identify coercive control and seek help. The resources include videos and fact sheets for young people entering relationships for the first time, as well as adults in their lives, to boost understanding of what coercive control looks like.

The new resources build upon an existing suite of materials including fact sheets and videos, tailored resources for First Nations people, language translations and guides for healthcare practitioners to recognise and respond to coercive control.

View the resources below:

• Young People and Relationships: Identifying Coercive Control
• Young People and Relationships: Identifying Coercive Control – A Guide for Parents, Guardians and Adults that Work with Young People

On 6 September the Albanese Government announced it will commit $4.4 billion in new funding to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

This additional investment will include:

• $3.9 billion in support for frontline legal assistance services to be delivered through a new National Access to Justice Partnership with the states and territories, to address the funding cliff left by the former Government.
• $351 million over five years from 2025-26 for funding under a renewed, five-year National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses frontline services, to be matched by states and territories.
• $169 million in targeted initiatives to support the National Plan and address gender-based violence:
  • The Commonwealth will invest $85 million in response to recommendations by Data and Digital Ministers, Attorneys-General and Police Ministers following the last National Cabinet, who identified key options for responding to high-risk perpetrators to prevent homicide and keep women safe.
  • To help break the cycle of violence, the Commonwealth will start comprehensive work with sector experts to identify gaps in supports for children and young people who have experienced or witnessed FDSV, to inform the design and implementation of new and revised initiatives and interventions. This work will include a specific focus on First Nations children and young people through culturally safe consultation and expertise.
  • While this comprehensive work is underway, the Commonwealth will provide an $80 million boost to enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports for children and young people. This will include specific focus on First Nations children and young people and prioritise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Sector, in line with Closing the Gap.
  • The Commonwealth will also lead work to establish national standards for men’s behaviour change.
  • To stamp out opportunities for systems abuse, the Government will immediately commence an audit of key Commonwealth government systems to identify areas where they are being weaponised by perpetrators of family and domestic violence. The audit will include the child support, social security and tax systems and will leverage existing reviews underway that seek to strengthen these systems.

Funding to expand the capacity of existing providers of the Supporting Children After Separation Program was also announced and we understand the Attorney-General’s Department will be in touch with these providers over the coming weeks.

FRSA’s supplementary submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into family Violence Orders has been published by the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs and is also now available on FRSA’s website.

We lodged an initial submission in July and flagged our intention to further explore with FRSA members the points of intersection between the family law services delivered by members, parenting orders and family violence orders. We are grateful to members who engaged in these rich and insightful discussions, which formed the basis of our supplementary submission.

FRSA Executive Director, Jackie Brady, and Manager of Policy & Research, Robyn Clough, also gave evidence to the inquiry at a public hearing on 23 August.

Earlier this month – and after much ‘to and fro’ – the Government announced it is setting a new topic of ‘sexual orientation and gender’ for inclusion in the 2026 Census.

This will allow the Australian Bureau of Statistics to ask questions on sexual orientation and gender for the first time, in keeping with their recommendation to government.

The change is an important step in enabling the Census to capture and reflect the rich diversity of Australians.

On 18 September Minister for Government Services the Hon. Bill Shorten MP provided a statement noting that Ray Griggs AO CSC Secretary of the Department of Social Services had announced his retirement from the Australian Public Service.

Mr Griggs has had a distinguished 46-year career in the public service, including three years as the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, 18 months in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and four decades in the Royal Australian Navy, including serving as the Chief of Navy and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force.

Mr Griggs will step down toward the end of the year. His replacement is yet to be announced.

Consultation on development of a standalone National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan has commenced.

SNAICC – National voice for our Children has been commissioned by the Commonwealth Government to provide support for community engagement and drafting of the Plan, along with secretariat services for the Steering Committee guiding the Plan’s development.

SNAICC has developed a discussion paper to underpin consultation and is inviting written submissions. The submission process is open until COB Friday 25 October 2024.

For more information, visit the SNAICC website.

Earlier this month National Cabinet signed a Heads of Agreement to a new National Access to Justice Partnership (NAJP). This will commence on 1 July 2025, when the current National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) expires. The new NAJP will provide $3.9 billion investment to support frontline legal assistance services.

The National Cabinet decision follows from an independent review of the NLAP, which reported at end May 2024.

The $3.9 billion investment includes an additional $800 million over five years to be split across all legal assistance providers over the life of the next agreement.

Congratulations to FRSA Members who’s staff and teams have won at the annual Victorian Protecting Children Awards. The awards recognise and celebrate individuals, teams and groups who demonstrate excellence in working with children, young people and families.

Congratulations to:

• Sue Sealey from Anglicare Victoria who won the Robin Clark Leadership Award
• Putting Families First Team from  OzChild, Youth Support and Advocacy Service, Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity, Charis and Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency won the Robin Clark Making a Difference Award
• Berry Street’s Take Two South Metropolitan Leadership Group who won the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Protecting Children
• Meaghan Lewin from Upper Murray Family Care who won the Foster Carer Award
• Edward and Te Tapu Tapara from Anglicare Victoria who won the Kinship Carer Award
• Sophie Doyle from MacKillop Family Services who won the CREATE Positive Impacts Award – CREATE Foundation

Mission Australia and Orygen has released a new report that shows more than half (55 per cent) of Australians aged 15-19 are concerned about financial security.

The report draws on responses from almost 20,000 people aged 15-19 to the 2023 Mission Australia Youth Survey, shows the proportion of young people who identify ‘the economy and financial matters’ as one of the most important issues facing Australia has almost tripled in two years (from 11 per cent to 31 per cent).

The report recommended a raft of measures to combat increasing financial stress and hardship faced by young people, including developing a social transition passport, better education around financial literacy and more housing options that young people can afford.

Key recommendations:

• A social transition passport: a co-designed app helping young people navigate financial requirements and available support.
• Increased financial support to reduce experiences of financial hardship. This includes increased rates of JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
• More housing options for young people, including dedicated youth-specific social housing and Youth Foyers. Young people need a range of safe, secure, affordable housing options with age-appropriate support services connected to them.
• Improved educational pathways, as educational attainment is an important predictor of future employment, welfare and health outcomes.
• Participation in community activities,which provides young people with opportunities for social engagement that benefit their wellbeing and provides contact points with young people for support services.
• Connection to sources of support, including evidence-based, age-appropriate sources of online support and information for young people.

Read the full report

Congratulations to FRSA Members who’s staff and teams won at the 2024 South Australian Child Protection Awards. The awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of children and young people, carers, volunteers, staff and organisations from across the child protection sector.

Congratulations to winners:

• Anglicare SA’s Iga Warta Cultural Camp who won the Active Efforts Awards
• Kerry Court from Uniting Country SA who won the Outstanding Service Award – Regional Impact

And congratulations to those that were nominated:

• Centacare Catholic Community Services’ Unify Family Reunification Services for the Outstanding Service Award – Sector Development
• Cassandra Mills from Centacare Catholic Country SA for the Outstanding Service Award – Regional Impact
• AnglicareSA and The Wilderness School’s The Wilderness Program for Community Service Awards

The Attorney-General’s Department has commissioned and funded the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) to undertake research on the abuse and mistreatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and/or asexual (LGBTIQA+) older people.

AIFS has partnered with Queerspace, a division of Drummond Street Services, to undertake this project and the research will also be guided by an LGBTIQA+ lived experience advisory panel (LEAP).

The research will help improve understanding of the experiences of abuse and mistreatment among LGBTIQA+ older people by examining the nature and dynamics of this abuse and mistreatment its effects and what effective service responses look like from the perspective of this LGBTIQA+ people.

How to get involved?

There are three separate activities where you can get involved:

• An anonymous online survey of LGBTIQA+ adults to capture data about abuse and mistreatment of older LGBTIQA+ people and specifically its nature and dynamics, the characteristics of people experiencing or engaging in this abuse and mistreatment, its effects and any help seeking or protective actions taken by older people and service responses. The survey is now open until the end of November 2024. Complete the survey.
• Online focus groups with older LGBTIQA+ adults (commencing mid-September 2024) to support an in depth understanding of the nature and dynamics of this abuse and mistreatment, its effects and what effective service responses look like from the perspectives of people in LGBTIQA+ groups
• Interviews with LGBTIQA+ older people who have experienced abuse and/or mistreatment as an older person (commencing mid-September 2024). The aim of the interviews is to learn more about LGBTIQA+ peoples’ understanding of elder abuse, their experiences of it, their help seeking and protective actions, and what improvements can be made to interventions, services, training and supports. 

The 2024 National Child Sexual Abuse & Harmful Sexual Behaviours Conference hosted by Kids First Australia is on from 31 October – 1 November 2024 at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Register your ticket today and engage in a transformative experience that will enhance your understanding and effectiveness in tackling these vital challenges. Hear from speakers including Grace Tame, Prof. Darryl Higgins, Rachel Lever, Karen Flanagan AM, Jackie Bateman and more. Visit their website to find out more and view the full program.

The Australian Childhood Foundation has developed a short survey to gather the experiences of parents and caregivers whose children have been exposed to online exploitation.

The goal of the It’s Never Too Late: Community research on online child sexual exploitation and abuse is to gain insights that will develop safer online spaces for children and reduce the risk of sexual exploitation and online abuse.

The survey can be completed by any adult, with a child who has any previous experience of online exploitation or abuse. It will take approximately 15-20 minutes. Click here to complete the survey

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.