ACWA has released a new evaluation highlighting the significant impact of the Family Safety Collaboration (FSC) across Dubbo and Wellington, demonstrating the power of relationship-centred, culturally grounded and place-based collaboration in strengthening responses to domestic and family violence (DFV).

A collaborative, community-led approach

The FSC was established in 2022 following work connected to the NSW Child Wellbeing Taskforce, where ACWA, Domestic Violence NSW, AbSec, the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), and the Ministry of Health identified the need to strengthen integrated responses to DFV, particularly where children and families were also interacting with child protection systems.

The collaboration was initially developed and resourced by ACWA, with support from key government and sector partners, to demonstrate how place-based planning, relationship-building and evidence-informed change readiness work can improve outcomes for children and families.

In 2024, ACWA released the first FSC Summary Report, which captured the initial phase of the collaboration and identified a number of important strategic insights that helped shape the next stage of the work.

These included:

• the importance of early engagement with local communities and services,
• embedding lived experience and Aboriginal leadership into planning processes,
• improving collaboration between fragmented systems,
• and building readiness for long-term systems change through place-based planning.

The first phase also highlighted the need for stronger strategic governance, improved coordination across commissioning systems, and more integrated responses to DFV across child protection, justice, health, ACCO and non-government service systems.

2026 Evaluation Report

The newly released independent evaluation, undertaken by Mawang Consulting, builds on this earlier work and demonstrates how the collaboration has evolved into a strong, community-led model focused on shared accountability, cultural safety and practical systems reform.

Stakeholders described the FSC as a “critical enabler of system change” and highlighted the importance of the project’s relationships-first approach in strengthening collaboration, improving communication and creating safer, more culturally informed responses for families.

Key outcomes and strengths

The evaluation identified a number of key outcomes and strengths, including:

• stronger partnerships and coordination between local services.
• increased cultural safety and trust across the service system.
• improved capability through shared learning and joint training initiatives.
• greater inclusion of lived experience and Aboriginal leadership in governance and decision-making.
• practical, community-led responses developed through place-based collaboration.

Place-based solutions delivering impact

One significant example highlighted in the evaluation was the co-design of a place-based response in Wellington to support women and children leaving violence. Through the collaboration, local stakeholders identified critical gaps in emergency accommodation and fragmented service responses, leading to the development of improved support pathways, stronger coordination and increased local capability.

The evaluation also highlighted the FSC’s role in supporting Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCO’s) to strengthen capability and build culturally safe service responses, with participants describing the collaboration as creating safe environments for learning, reflection and shared problem-solving without the pressures of competition between organisations.

Building stronger systems for children and families

Importantly, the report reinforces the need for sustained investment in place-based and prevention-focused approaches.

The report also highlights the importance of building collaboration into our systems of support for families. Funding services alone is not enough to create strong, connected service ecosystems. The FSC demonstrated the value of dedicated coordination, governance, shared planning, relationship-building and community input in helping services work together more effectively to respond to complex family needs and drive longer-term systems change.

Recommendations include securing long-term funding, strengthening governance and accountability, investing in workforce and cultural capability, and embedding ongoing evaluation and community-led collaboration into future models.

The evaluation concludes that relationship-centred, culturally grounded collaboration has the potential to transform service systems and improve outcomes for children, families and communities across NSW.

Acknowledgement

ACWA acknowledges the NSW Government and the Department of Communities and Justice for providing funding support to the Family Safety Collaboration from August 2024 to June 2026, helping strengthen outcomes for children, families and communities impacted by domestic and family violence across Dubbo and Wellington.

Read the full report

Click on the image below to read the full evaluation report: