Domestic, family and sexual violence workforce and sector development

Building a capable and responsive domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) workforce and sector is a key commitment of the Northern Territory’s Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Reduction Framework 2018-2028 Safe, respected and free from violence PDF (2.8 MB).

A strong, supported and skilled DFSV workforce and sector will enable greater safety and wellbeing for DFSV victim-survivors; stronger accountability for people who commit DFSV - as well as more effective support to change their behaviour - and more effort to prevent violence before it occurs.

Advantages

Building a capable and responsive workforce and sector means that:

  • workers will have the skills and support they need to do their jobs effectively and safely;
  • organisations will have the structures, resources and practices in place to support their workers to do their jobs; and
  • workers and organisations will be supported to enhance their collaboration and advocacy skills and build networks and communities of practice.

Northern Territory Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Workforce and Sector Development Plan

The Northern Territory Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Workforce and Sector Development Plan PDF (270.0 KB) sets out our goals and priority actions aimed at strengthening and supporting the DFSV workforce and sector. The development of the Workforce and Sector Development Plan included consultation with the universal, statutory and specialist services across government and non-government, as well as research and a training audit.

The outcomes of the research, audit and consultation are contained in the Background Paper. PDF (673.6 KB)

Commitments and actions

The Northern Territory Government has committed $1 million per year to support the development of the DFSV workforce and sector. This is complemented by increased investment in prevention, response, and enhanced specialist service provision.

The Workforce and Sector Development Plan identifies immediate actions to be undertaken in the next two to three years; and will be reviewed after two years to inform development of further actions.

Stakeholders have told of the need for coordinated, consistent and culturally relevant training. One of the key actions under the Workforce and Sector Development Plan is to establish a centralised Resource Centre to develop, deliver and coordinate training and practice support for workers across the sector, including those working in remote areas.

Consultation on the preferred model and operator of the Resource Centre will commence soon. We will post information on this page about when and how you can provide your input.

Downloads

Sharing and Strengthening Our Practice, 2024

On 5 and 6 June 2024, Sharing and Strengthening our Practice was held, bringing together over 250 specialist DFSV prevention and response workers, supervisors, managers and executives from both government and non government organisations across the Northern Territory.

The conference provided an opportunity for workers to share their experiences and knowledge, and learn from guest speakers about the latest issues, trends and responses in the DFSV services sector.

Delegates who attended the conference noted the strength and relevance of the topic added to the success of the conference, and felt the conference was aspirational, giving delegates a sense of hope.

Conference videos

On 9 and 10 May 2019, over 170 people from over 40 government and non-government organisations, who work in and with the domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) sector across the Northern Territory came together for the inaugural biennial Sharing and Strengthening Our Practice Conference (the conference) in Darwin.

The two day conference provided a space for delegates to share and reflect on practice learnings, innovative approaches and how frontline workers, service deliverers and policy makers can support a responsive and high quality service system to reduce the impacts and incidences of DFSV.

Outcomes from the Conference, including feedback from delegates and presenters, are outlined in the Outcomes Report.

We received permission from the following presenters to publish their conference presentations:

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