Outcome two: Territorians at risk of experiencing violence are identified early and provided with effective interventions

The annual Safe, respected and free from violence prevention grants program commenced in 2018 and now offers grants of up to $150,000 from a total annual funding pool of $1 million.

Grants open in November every year until the end of January the following year, so applicants have three months to prepare their applications.

In 2020-21, Safe, respected and free from violence grants were available to local organisations to develop and undertake primary or secondary prevention activities across the Territory. The latest grant round closed in January 2021 and results are anticipated to be announced in April 2021.

Visit the Safe, respected and free from violence grant page for information on how to apply for a grant.

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) has committed $300,000 per year to implementing the Northern Territory’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Framework PDF (6.2 MB) and Priority Actions.

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Framework Priority Actions includes commitments to:

• strengthen the delivery of respectful relationships resources in Northern Territory schools;
• strengthen responses for children and young people engaged in harmful sexual behaviours;
• provide information about respectful relationships, including consent, in domestic and family violence programs run by Northern Territory Correctional Services.

Not commenced

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities funds two Regional Coordinator positions in the Barkly and Big Rivers regions to support place-based initiatives and drive service implementation, improvement and coordination in line with the 10-year domestic, family and sexual violence reduction framework. PDF (2.8 MB)

The annual Safe, respected and free from violence prevention grants program commenced in 2018 and now offers grants of up to $150,000 from a total annual funding pool of $1 million.

Grants open in November every year until the end of January the following year, so applicants have three months to prepare their applications. Results of the latest grant round are anticipated to be announced in April 2021.

Information about the grant recipients and funded projects is now available.

Visit the Safe, respected and free from violence grant page for information on how to apply for a grant.

On track / ongoing

Department of Education

The Department of Education takes its moral and legal obligations to support and protect children and young people in its care very seriously. While at school, staff are integral to child protection and are well placed to establish and provide support.

The department has committed to increasing the number of Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum train-the-trainers by 30, to be completed by the end of Term 2, 2021. Training was halted in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however it is anticipated training of schools in the curriculum will recommence in Term 3, 2021.

Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) is developing a research agenda to drive future department-wide research projects.

The Department utilises insights provided by reviews of existing services and service systems to inform program and project development and enhancement.

In 2018-19, the Department commissioned a domestic and family violence service review in Katherine and Tennant Creek and a domestic and family violence service system review in the Barkly and Big Rivers regions.

Recommendations arising from the reviews, including to improve service coordination and delivery and integration of services, are currently being considered for implementation.

In 2020-21, the Department commissioned a review of four domestic and family violence services funded by the Department in the Greater Darwin region. The recommendations of this review are currently being considered.

Service system development

2.2b)

Using research, develop a Five Year Housing Master Plan of current and projected demand for emergency women’s shelters.

Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) has commissioned a number of domestic and family violence services and service system reviews. The outcomes and recommendations of these reviews are informing future service and infrastructure needs.

The Department’s Homelessness Strategy includes a commitment to develop housing and homelessness responses that more effectively support women, children, young people and families impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence to access and sustain stable housing with support. This includes the development of a five-year master plan of current and projected demand for emergency women’s shelters.

The Department’s Northern Territory Housing Strategy 2020-2025 includes an action to develop a strategic asset master plan for social housing supply that better responds to demand.

Not commenced

Service system development

2.2c)

Research the link between problem gambling and violence within families, particularly in remote communities, and identify ways to improve responses.

NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services

The Australian National University, Menzies School of Health Research and Amity Community Services Inc are engaged in a collaborative pilot project designed to minimise gambling harm in three remote Aboriginal communities (Pmara Jutunta (6 mile) near Ti Tree; Wurrumiyanga; and Willowra).

Data collected for the project includes family violence data. The pilot is currently delivering on the public health response to the administrative data collected in the various communities.

The project report is due late 2019. Workshops with agencies on the implications of the findings are likely to be held once the report is released.

There are strong connections between problem gambling and family violence. The report is likely to show a need for workforce development in relation to gambling related harms including family violence and harm to children.

Target and support individuals and groups at risk through multiple pathways including an expansion of outreach services.

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) provided additional critical outreach program funding to domestic and family violence specialist services funded by the agency in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

The Specialist Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Services Grant Program (enhanced specialist services grant) offered $1.7 million in 2019-20 and $1.7 million in 2020-21. Applicants were invited to apply for:

• Up to $40,000 per service for flexible support packages to tailor support to individual client needs;
• Up to $150,000 per service for counselling services to support the safety and wellbeing of victim-survivors; and
• Up to $150,000 per service to expand critical intervention outreach services to reach women, children and families in need, either through expanding the reach of existing services and/or expanding the types of service available in the existing outreach program.

A total of 10 services across the Northern Territory applied and were approved for the specialist services grant. Recipients of the funding reported that service delivery and case management has greatly improved.

Some services expanded the reach of existing outreach services, while others employed dedicated critical outreach workers under the grant program. The grant funding significantly increased the services’ capacity to provide support, make referrals and engage with the community.

Some services utilised the funding to recruit new or additional counsellors to meet the growing demand for counselling services to assist with recovery from the impacts of domestic and family violence, including the delivery of group sessions focusing on long-term recovery.

The flexible support packages funded under the specialist services grant enable services to tailor support to the needs of women and children experiencing domestic and family violence. A wide variety of assistance is provided including food vouchers, transport for emergency evacuation, medical needs, safety packages, hygiene packs and essential items necessary for setting up a new home.

Integrated service delivery and coordination

Department of Health

NT Health continues to progress the whole of agency three-year strategic Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Reduction plan and annual action plans aligned with the Northern Territory Government’s Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Reduction Framework 2018-2028 Safe, respected and free from violence; and action plans.

Governance and communication

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) supports delivery of crisis accommodation for women and children escaping domestic and family violence in 29 Women’s Safe Houses and Refuges across the Northern Territory.

The Department operates 13 Women’s Safe Houses in remote Aboriginal communities; provides funding for 16 Women’s Refuges and Safe Houses operated by non-government organisations in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs, Elliot, Ali Curung, Borroloola, Tiwi Islands, Daly River, Wadeye, Gunbalanya and Tennant Creek.

Frontline housing operations staff across the Northern Territory participate in and deliver a range of early intervention, crisis and post crisis activities in response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

All frontline housing staff provide referral services to clients at risk through SupportLink, and attend training to assist with identifying and responding to domestic and family violence. This includes training on mandatory reporting to ensure staff are aware of their mandatory reporting obligations

Homelessness funding supports the delivery of crisis and post crisis support, emergency homelessness accommodation and support. Staff from regional housing offices work closely with funded domestic and family violence services to coordinate service provision and inform operational responses to the housing needs of victims.

This action links to other strategic whole of government actions currently underway:

• the Northern Territory Homelessness Strategy 2018-23 Pathways out of Homelessness identifies people experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence as one of the priority client groups for the strategy - in line with the strong correlation between domestic and family violence and homelessness; and
• the Northern Territory Housing Strategy 2020-2025 A Home for all Territorians includes a commitment to work with the specialist homelessness sector to strengthen service responses for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Integrated service delivery and coordination

In 2019-20, the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) contracted Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety and Jackie Burke Consulting to undertake extensive stakeholder engagement throughout the Northern Territory. The results of this engagement informed the development of the Northern Territory Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework, which includes a Common Risk Assessment Tool (CRAT).

The Risk Assessment and Management Framework, Common Risk Assessment Tool and other tools and resources, including an organisational implementation guide, were released in October 2020 and are available on the Department’s website. An orientation program was delivered to services and leadership groups throughout the Northern Territory to provide an overview of the framework, including the new risk assessment tool. This program is being developed into an online video.

The evidence-based Common Risk Assessment Tool (CRAT) was introduced to Family Safety Framework networks across the Northern Territory in late 2020 and replaced the Family Safety Framework Risk Assessment Tool in February 2021.

The Department developed and delivers two training modules to support implementation of the Risk Assessment and Management Framework and support workers to understand and use the tools. Training is tailored to the level of expertise and experience of participants, with the first module aimed at universal workers and the more comprehensive module aimed at specialist and statutory workers. The program includes a train the trainer program to support sustainability and local accessibility for ongoing training delivery. The Department has partnered with the Northern Territory Council of Social Services to implement this training.

The first round of training was delivered in February and March in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy, with over 250 participants attending the workshops. Additional workshops are being scheduled for later in 2021 (dates to be confirmed and will be published on the Department’s website).

With the public release of the Risk Assessment and Management Framework, organisations providing a domestic and family violence service may now apply to become prescribed by legislation as Information Sharing Entities and participate in the Northern Territory Domestic and Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme.

Applicants must satisfy the Minister for Territory Families and Urban Housing that they will align their policies, procedures, practice guidance and tools with the Risk Assessment and Management Framework.

The first round of Information Sharing Entity applications is now closed, with eight non-government organisations due to be prescribed by legislation in mid-2021. The second round will open in mid-2021. More information is available on the Territory Families, Housing and Communities website.

The Northern Territory Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework was released in October 2020. The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (the Department) developed two training modules to support implementation of the Risk Assessment and Management Framework and enable organisations to understand and use the tools.

Training is tailored to the level of expertise and experience of participants, with the first module aimed at universal workers and the more comprehensive module aimed at specialist and statutory workers. The program includes a train the trainer program to support sustainability and local accessibility for ongoing training delivery

The first round of training was delivered in February and March in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy, with over 250 participants attending the workshops. Additional workshops are being scheduled for later in 2021 (dates to be confirmed and will be published on the Department’s website).

Development of the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Workforce and Sector Development Plan, which was released in March 2021, was informed by the results of an audit of available training across the Northern Territory; and desktop research. The audit and research highlighted that while a number of training opportunities are offered in the Northern Territory, less than half were locally developed and locally relevant; and only 40% were delivered by local training providers.

Under the Workforce and Sector Development Plan, consultation will commence in mid-2021 on establishing a centralised structure for developing, brokering, delivering and coordinating culturally relevant and safe domestic, family and sexual violence training that will be accessible across the Northern Territory. Under the Action Plan, $1 million per year has been allocated to support the development of the domestic, family and sexual violence workforce and sector.

In 2020-21, the Department invested $89,000 to deliver the internationally respected four-day Safe and Together Model CORE Training Program, which focuses on supporting child safety and family functioning where domestic violence is present.

The Safe and Together training is offered to the Department’s child protection practitioners, specialist non-government organisation domestic violence sector partners and the Northern Territory Police.

The Department also funds Dawn House in Darwin and Women’s Safety Service of Central Australia in Alice Springs to deliver free Domestic Family Violence (DFV) Fundamentals training in Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Katherine, Alice Springs and Yuendumu. The Department delivers DFV Fundamentals training in Tennant Creek.

NT Health Domestic and Family Violence Clinical Guidelines pilots have been completed in four sites across Top End Health Service and Central Australia Health Service.

Review and evaluation of the Clinical Guidelines is complete. Roll out of the Clinical Guidelines in Top End Health Service has commenced and clinical champions have been identified.

Delivery of Clinical Guidelines training in Central Australia Health Service pilot sites is ongoing.

The Northern Territory Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework, which includes the Common Risk Assessment Tool, was released in October 2020.

The use of the Risk Assessment and Management Framework, Common Risk Assessment Tool and the other tools and practice guidance supports provision of a consistent, coherent and evidence-based risk assessment framework that assists workers to identify, assess, respond to and manage domestic and family violence risk.

The evidence-based Common Risk Assessment Tool (CRAT) replaced the Family Safety Framework Risk Assessment Tool in February 2021 and is recommended for use across the Northern Territory.

The Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities has developed two training modules to support implementation of the Risk Assessment and Management Framework and use of the Common Risk Assessment Tool.

Training is tailored to the level of expertise and experience of participants, with the first module aimed at universal workers and the more comprehensive module aimed at specialist and statutory workers. The program includes a train the trainer program to support sustainability and local accessibility for ongoing training delivery

The first round of training was delivered in February and March in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy, with over 250 participants attending the workshops. Additional workshops are being scheduled for later in 2021 (dates to be confirmed and will be published on the Department’s website).

The Common Risk Assessment Tool was developed based on the evidence available relating to those most at risk of serious harm and death from Domestic Family Violence (DFV) – women in intimate heterosexual relationships. The Common Risk Assessment Tool (CRAT) will be reviewed after two years of operation, to explore additional tailoring required to respond to other vulnerable groups.

Department of Education