It is great to be back after a month of chasing sunshine, warmer weather and a good book or two.  I have been successful on all fronts and grateful to Robyn, Narelle, Lisa, Heidi, Sue and Vanessa for all their work in my absence.

It is a very busy time for organisations as they meet their governance and accountability requirements.   I have just sent out to our members the Notice of Meeting for the FRSA AGM that will be held virtually on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 12:00pm AEDT.  There has been no shortage of debate and conversation in the media this week about political accountability and transparency (think Qantas upgrades and Robodebt).  Whilst Charities are no longer legally required to hold an AGM (under the ACNC Act or the Corporations Act) the FRSA Board is and has always been of the view that AGMs provide an opportunity for organisations to exercise transparency and accountability – especially for their members and stakeholders – and that it is a practice that we should encourage and actively participate in.  This is also a strong message delivered by the ACNC as part of the Governance Standards around accountability.  Now that we are able to present our AGM online, we encourage our members and stakeholders to register to attend to hear what FRSA has been doing over the last 12 months and ask questions.  It will be the last AGM for our current Chair, Teresa Jayet, who will be stepping down from the FRSA Board having served six years of her maximum term as a member elected Board Director.

On that note – just a reminder to Member Delegates of FRSA Full Financial Members that the FRSA Member Elected Board Director election process is currently open and will close at 4pm on Monday 11 November.  Please be in touch if you need any further information.

Getting an insight into how our members celebrated Children’s week (see below) reflects that children are truly at the heart of so much work within the Family and Relationship Services sector.  I encourage the FRS sector to take the opportunity to showcase their fantastic work and programs through the FRSA Child Inclusive Practice Forum (18-19 February 2025) and the FRSA National Conference (19-22 May 2025).  We are currently in the ‘Call for Abstracts’ phase of building the programs for these two events.  I strongly encourage you to look at the Call for Abstracts for each of these events and make an application.  Deadlines are approaching so please take a look today!

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) invites you to submit an abstract to present at the FRSA National Conference 2025.

The theme for the FRSA National Conference 2025 is Safe, Strong and Thriving.

FRSA’s vision is an Australia where children, families and communities are safe, strong and thriving. At National Conference 2025 we ask: What will it take to bring this vision to life in a complex and ever-changing environment? How do we navigate complexity, change – and the unexpected – to ensure our services work for children, families and communities? Importantly, how do we ensure that our sector is safe, strong and thriving so that we can realise our vision for the people we work with every day?

Family and relationship services are designed as early intervention universal services – available to all people living in Australia, as and when they need them. However, people are increasingly presenting to family and relationship services with complex and intersecting needs, exacerbated by the cost of living and housing crisis, and overloaded tertiary service systems. In this context, what does early intervention mean? And, how do we ensure access for all?  We ask presenters to reflect on this context as they prepare an abstract that responds to the theme, Safe, Strong and Thriving.

The FRSA National Conference 2025 provides a platform to showcase and learn from on the ground practice, policy, and research. It will provide an opportunity to identify the strengths we can build on and the opportunities we can harness to meet the changing needs of children, families and communities.

The FRSA Conference is heralded as a highlight event for the Family and Relationship Services Network and will, as always, deliver a prime opportunity to showcase the impressive work of the sector.

We welcome abstracts that speak to the conference theme – Safe, Strong and Thriving.

In preparing and making your submission, you are asked to select and position your abstract within one of the six following streams:

1. The first 1000 days (e.g. the preconception period (preconception to birth), the birth of a child, impact on family relationships and transitions into parenting).

2. Schooling Years (e.g. school readiness, transitions into and across primary and secondary schools/school years, young people with significant caring responsibilities and transitioning out of school into training, tertiary education or employment).

3. Children at the Centre (e.g. child-focused and child-inclusive practice, supporting children’s participation in policy development, children’s participation in service design and evaluation, child safety and wellbeing).

4. Relationship breakdown and re-partnering (e.g. family/domestic violence, family legal services, family dispute resolution, men’s behavioural change programs, parenting after separation, sole-parenting and sustaining the best interests and wellbeing of children).

5. Family Domestic Violence (e.g. identifying and managing family violence risk, child maltreatment, perpetrator interventions, adolescents using violence in the home, elder abuse)

6. Across the lifecourse (e.g. diverse and changing family structures, developing and maintaining respectful relationships, social connection, intersectionality and inclusion)

All abstracts must be submitted online by 5:00pm AEDT, Wednesday 13 November 2024. For more information or to submit an abstract, visit the conference website.

FRSA invites you to submit an abstract to present at the 2025 Child Inclusive Practice Forum. The Forum will be held at the 59 Cameron Ave Conference and Event Centre, Canberra on 18-19 February 2025.

Next year’s Child Inclusive Practice Forum theme is Children at the Centre. Within the Family and Relationship Services sector we have a well-developed body of expertise in working in a child inclusive modality in separation and post separation contexts. This has been recognised in the recent review of the Attorney-General’s Department funded suite of family law services – the Family Relationships Services Program – which has recommended that Child Inclusive Practice be specifically funded and, where safe and appropriate, be presented as an opt-out part of the Family Dispute Resolution process.

FRSA invites abstracts for presentations from all professional domains that promote the genuine participation of children and young people and ensure their experiences and views are central in practice. The content will have a focus on research and practice presentations that incorporate the views and experiences of children and young people. How can we engage ethically and meaningfully with children and young people so that their voice can shine through in decisions and processes that affect them?

The Call for Abstracts closes 9:00pm AEDT, Friday 8 November 2024. For more information about the CIP Forum and the abstract process, or to submit your Abstract, please visit the Child Inclusive Practice website.

Register today for the next webinar in our First Nations focus on Family and Relationship services series, Aboriginal Community Education Officer Engagement presented by Lorelle Bennett and Jayde Milburn from AnglicareSA on Thursday, 13 November at 12:30PM-1:15PM (AEDT)

View the full webinar schedule below:

In this week’s video we spoke to Genevieve Heard, Researcher at Relationships Australia Victoria in Victoria.

The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse has released The Australian Child Sexual Abuse Attitudes, Knowledge and Response Study. 

Over 4,000 adults from across Australia were surveyed and asked about their attitudes towards, knowledge of, and responses to child sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviours, and the needs of victims and survivors.

The findings, which have revealed critical gaps in the public’s understanding of and ability to identify and respond to child sexual abuse in Australia, should inform national and local strategies and efforts to enhance community capacity in preventing, identifying, and responding to child sexual abuse.

You can access that report here.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a report presenting information on young people under youth justice supervision during 2022–23 who had an interaction with the child protection system in the 10 years from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2023.

Key findings:

• 65% of those under youth justice supervision in 2022–23 interacted with the child protection system in the last 10 years
• 29% of those under youth justice supervision in 2022–23 interacted with the child protection system in the same year
• 27% of those under youth justice supervision in 2022–23 had been on a care and protection order in the last 10 years
• 25% of those under youth justice supervision n 2022–23 had been in out-of-home care in the last 10 years.

The report is available here.

On 30 October 2024 the Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth announced that the government is co-investing with philanthropy to develop a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the needs and aspirations of local communities and addressing entrenched disadvantage.

This organisation will be called Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE). PLACE will provide the forum and practical tools to replicate the successes of existing place-based initiatives in more communities and to enhance existing initiatives.

PLACE was established following consideration of the Nexus prospectus for a National Centre for Place-Based Collaboration, or Nexus Centre. The prospectus set out the value and need for having a national entity for place-based change, and options for establishing such an entity.

You can find out more here.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the lates data on the labour force status of families.

Key statistics – June 2024:

• there were 7.6 million families, an increase of over 1.0 million since June 2014
• there were 1.4 million jobless families, which represents 19% of all families
• 284,000 one parent families were jobless
• Almost three-quarters (73%) of the 2.2 million couple families with children aged 0-14 years had two employed parents.

You can read more about the labour force status of families here.

This report – An Anti-racism Framework: The Perspectives of Multicultural Australia – was commissioned by the AHRC and conducted by the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA).

This report presents the findings and recommendations that followed consultations with more than 1200 people with lived experience of racism from across Australia. Among the key findings was that despite the diversity of people’s backgrounds racism was prevalent throughout the country and entrenched in society.

Recommendations include:

• Government must lead the way and commit to a whole-of-society, anti-racism agenda, such as through a national anti-racism framework.
• Schools must educate on racism, including First Nations experiences of settler colonisation, and take a strengths-based approach to racial diversity including via curriculum.
• Combating First Nations racism must be at the forefront of reform.
• In government institutions, healthcare and the police, anti-racism education for staff, including training for executive leaders, should be mandatory.
• Across all sectors, employers should review their recruitment and development pathways to ensure that diversity is reflected through genuine representation, career progression, and leadership roles.
• Media should employ more professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds that lead news and help to shape anti-racist narratives in Australia.
• A Federal Human Rights Act should be introduced to address the intersections of discrimination and to create national consistency around protection of human rights.
• The Australian Government should go beyond one-off projects by providing additional specific, long-term funding for a national anti-racism strategy.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee has tabled its report on its inquiry into the Family Law Amendment Bill 2024. The bill was referred to the Committee on 12 September 2024 for inquiry and report by 31 October 2024.

In FRSA’s evidence to this inquiry we noted our support for the Government’s commitment to making the family law system safer and simpler for separating families. However, we did note our concern that the that amendments may inadvertently afford new opportunities for the perpetration of systems abuse and suggested measures to mitigate this outcome. We also argued that provisions to afford greater safeguards to help prevent sensitive information being adduced in family law proceedings if its introduction is likely to cause harm to a party could be strengthened. We were pleased to see this reflected in the committee’s recommendations.

The bill provides for a regulatory framework for Children’s Contact Services. FRSA has long supported the establishment of an accreditation scheme, and we welcomed progress on this matter.

On 18 October, FRSA joined colleagues from Relationships Australia National Office, to give evidence to the inquiry on the bill. A transcript of evidence to the Committee is available here. FRSA’s submission to the inquiry is also available online.

The Albanese Government is investing $3.5 million to support three innovative projects promoting and encouraging healthy perceptions of masculinity among school-aged boys.

The Healthy MaTE trial has been given to three projects:

• Empowering Boys to Become Great Men – The Man Cave
• The Common Ground Project: Future Fit Masculinities – a consortium led by the Foundation for Positive Masculinity
• Active Respect – The Men’s Project (Jesuit Social Services)

Each of the projects will receive around $1 million in funding to trial activities that focus on influencing and changing attitudes and behaviours that may lead to gender-based violence by encouraging healthy, respectful relationships among school-aged boys.

The projects will begin from early 2025 and run through to 2026.

The 2025 Parliamentary sittings calendar has been released. The Federal Budget has been scheduled for Tuesday, 25 March 2025.

Click here for the 2025 Proposed Parliamentary Sittings Calendar.

On 27 October 2024, the Albanese Government announced it is investing $12.8 million to better equip existing specialist and community support services to respond to child sexual abuse and children displaying harmful sexual behaviours.

These new competitive grants will be available to services working with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and services working with children who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours. Services will be funded to provide evidence-based therapeutic responses to help prevent these behaviours from re-occurring or escalating.

The funding announced is part of the $80 million commitment agreed at National Cabinet in September to enhance and expand child-centric, trauma-informed supports for children and young people who have experienced or witnessed family, domestic and sexual violence.

This package responded to recommendations in the Rapid Review of Prevention provided to Government and supports work under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2023.

The announcement marks three years since the launch of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 (National Strategy).

The COVID-19 Response Inquiry report has been released and is published on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website.

The independent inquiry was announced by the Prime Minister on 21 September 2023 and considered health and non-health responses to the pandemic, which were the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government or undertaken jointly with states and territories.

The report includes nine guiding recommendations and 26 actions for change to enhance Australia’s preparedness and response systems to manage future public health emergencies.

Actions 14 and 15 may be of particular interest to the community sector. Action 14 is to ‘embed flexibility in Australian Government grant and procurement arrangements to support the rapid delivery of funding and services in a national health emergency’.

Action 15 is to ‘ensure there are appropriate coordination and communication pathways in place with industry, unions, primary care stakeholders, local government, the community sector, priority populations and community representatives on issues related to public health emergencies’.

Children’s Week is an annual celebration in Australia that highlights children’s rights and well-being. The 2024 theme, inspired by UNCRC Article 24, focuses on the right to a clean and safe environment. Taking place from October 19 to October 27, the week included a variety of events and activities at national, state, and local levels, engaging thousands of children and families through schools, playgroups, childcare centres, cultural organisations, libraries, and community groups. Children’s Week celebrates the right of children to enjoy childhood and create environments where children feel valued, heard, and protected.

See how some FRSA Members around the country celebrated the week:

• Windermere Child and Family Service had an incredible day celebrating Children’s week at The Old Cheese Factory in Berwick. See their video.
• Penguin Parent Education Network hosted a Children’s Week Party with 31 children and lots of grown-ups join in on the fun. See their video.
• FamilyCare celebrated Children’s Week at Journey Early Learning, potting flowers and singing and dancing with Wozza and Stewie Koala and Breanna the Gum Tree.
• Mallee Family Care celebrated Children’s Week in Mildura’s Langtree Mall and at their Playgroups for free fun, including the Get Your Groove On live show, craft and colouring creativity and sensory and movement activities
• Key Assets Australia attended Wanneroo Community Event at the Wanneroo Showgrounds and shared information about fostering amongst lots of free activities for the kids, music and food trucks.
• Capital Regional Community Services celebrated Children’s Week at Ginninderra Early Childhood Centre hosted a rewarding activity for Children’s Week, centered around the theme, “Every child has the right to a safe and clean environment.” This special gardening session provided an excellent opportunity to engage preschool children in sustainable practices while enjoying some spring gardening.
• Centacare Central West & Orana Family Day Out at Centacare! Last Saturday, Centacare Central West & Orana celebrated National Children’s Week with a fun-filled day of activities, games, and entertainment, honouring little ones and their bright futures.
• Centacare Family Services had a wonderful time on Wednesday celebrating this year’s Children’s Week at the Geraldton Museum with families and local organisations. See their slide show.
• AIFS Reflecting on the Children’s Week theme, AIFS shared nature play resources to support children to enjoy more of the natural environment through nature play – helping foster creativity, curiosity and imagination, as well as physical challenge and development.

Over the past six months, the Australian Government has been hearing from carers across the country about what is important to them, including what supports and services they need to participate fully in society and fulfil their caring roles.

Government is now inviting feedback from carers, the people they care for, relevant organisations and members of the Australian public who wish to comment on key elements of the draft National Carer Strategy.

The consultation closes on 3 November 2024. Find out more here.

AIFS and Emerging Minds will deliver a webinar on Supporting Families to navigate tough times: The impact of financial and housing insecurity, isolation and discrimination.

With a steep rise in the cost of living, a growing number of Australian families are having to navigate financial distress, housing insecurity, social isolation and discrimination. These factors have a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of children and families. Supporting families as they navigate these challenges can be complex. This webinar will introduce a new collection of resources from Emerging Minds that you can use in your work with children and families. These resources were produced in collaboration with families and practitioners and aim to amplify child and family voices.

Date & time: Wednesday 13 November, 1:00pm – 2:00pm (AEDT).

For more information and to register, click here.

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.