The GFVA Governance Group is made up of core members from Specialist Family Violence and Family Services agencies, alongside associate members from key government departments and allied sectors.

The Governance Group plays a critical leadership role in guiding the strategic direction of the Gippsland Family Violence Alliance. It is responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and monitoring of the Strategic Plan, ensuring that the Alliance’s work remains aligned with regional priorities and sector reforms.

By providing strong, coordinated leadership, the Governance Group ensures that Gippsland continues to shape and influence the evolving family violence system.

The GFVA Network brings together representatives from key community service organisations across Gippsland. The purpose of the Network is to support the implementation of the Gippsland Family Violence Alliance Strategic Plan by translating strategic priorities into practical action.

Members contribute valuable on-the-ground insights and systems knowledge, helping to identify emerging issues, promote collaboration, and strengthen service integration across the region. The Network acts as a critical mechanism for ensuring that the Alliance’s work remains responsive to local needs and is grounded in the realities of practice.

The Advocacy Working Group was established to amplify Gippsland’s voice and ensure the unique needs and challenges of the region are visible to key decision makers. Its purpose is to identify systemic issues impacting the family violence sector in Gippsland, develop clear advocacy messages, and coordinate regional efforts to influence policy, funding, and service design. By drawing on local data, practitioner insight, and lived experience, the group aims to build a strong, unified platform that ensures Gippsland is not overlooked in statewide reform conversations and investment decisions.

The Workforce Capacity Working Group plays a key role in strengthening the capability and sustainability of the Gippsland family violence and broader community services workforce. The group brings together representatives from a range of agencies to collaboratively identify, support, and implement initiatives that address current and future workforce needs.

Its primary focus areas include:

• Attraction – promoting careers in the sector through education, awareness campaigns, and partnerships with training providers.

• Recruitment – identifying barriers and solutions to attracting qualified staff, particularly in rural and regional areas.

• Retention – supporting staff wellbeing, supervision, professional development, and career progression to build a stable and resilient workforce.

The group also plays a role in advising on the implementation of the GFVA Workforce Development Strategy, sharing data and insights, and shaping place-based responses to workforce challenges. By aligning with state-level reforms and sector capability frameworks, the Workforce Capacity Working Group ensures Gippsland remains a leader in workforce development and innovation.

The System Improvement Working Groups have been established to identify and address systemic challenges across Inner and Outer Gippsland, with a focus on improving service integration and outcomes for people experiencing or using family violence.

These working groups bring together representatives from a range of sectors—including specialist family violence, family services, housing, justice, mental health, and alcohol and other drug services—to collaborate on region-specific solutions.

The key objectives of the groups are to:

• Identify and respond to local and regional system gaps, pressures, and opportunities.

• Support multi-agency alignment with the MARAM Framework, by improving shared understanding of risk and collaborative risk management practice.

• Strengthen the consistency of the client experience across different service touchpoints, ensuring safer and more coordinated responses.

• Support agencies in implementing reforms by sharing practice insights, mapping system flow and throughput, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Each region determines its own priorities and actions based on local data and practitioner input. The work is also supported by a data project designed to better understand service demand and throughput across Gippsland, and by the Advocacy Working Group, which elevates system issues to decision-makers.

Through this work, the groups aim to create a more connected, accountable, and trauma-informed system of care.

The Gippsland Behaviour Change Community of Practice brings together practitioners and program staff from agencies that work with men and adolescents who use violence. This includes facilitators, case managers, therapeutic specialists, and other professionals involved in behaviour change and early intervention programs.

The primary purpose of the Community of Practice is to:

• Strengthen practice capability by creating a space for critical reflection, shared learning, and discussion of complex cases.

• Support practitioner wellbeing through connection, peer support, and a recognition of the emotional demands of working with people who use violence.

• Enhance collaboration and consistency across the region by sharing tools, approaches, and emerging evidence.

• Explore best practice approaches to engaging people who use violence, including culturally safe and trauma-informed models of care.

By fostering trust and ongoing relationships across agencies, the Community of Practice contributes to building a skilled, connected, and supported workforce—one that is better equipped to support behaviour change, risk management, and accountability, while improving safety outcomes for victim survivors.

Let me know if you’d like to add a reference to any guiding frameworks (e.g. MARAM, Change the Story)

Practice and Connection Forums are designed for practitioners working directly with clients across the Gippsland region. These forums provide a supportive and collaborative space to strengthen practice, build professional connections, and prioritise workforce wellbeing.

Each session focuses on a specific practice area or emerging issue relevant to client-facing roles. Through guest speakers, case-based learning, and interactive discussion, participants gain practical tools, deepen their understanding of key frameworks (including MARAM), and enhance their ability to work collaboratively across services.

The forums aim to:

• Build confidence and capability in addressing complex client needs

• Promote cross-sector networking and reduce professional isolation

• Support reflective practice and practitioner wellbeing

• Foster a shared understanding of risk, safety, and intersectionality across the service system

By grounding each session in real-world practice and practitioner-led conversation, Practice and Connection Forums help to bridge the gap between policy and frontline experience, and contribute to a more connected, informed, and resilient family violence and community services workforce.

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