Welcome to ACWA’s Domestic & Family Violence Hub
Exposure to domestic and family violence causes lasting harm to children, affecting their health, development, and education. It is a leading cause of child protection involvement and a core concern in ACWA’s mission to ensure children’s safety and wellbeing.
This hub offers resources to help understand, prevent, and respond to domestic and family violence. Learn how ACWA collaborates with member NGOs and partners like DVNSW, AbSec, and DCJ to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by violence in the home.
The Waluwin Wayadan Family Safety Collaboration – Central West NSW
The Waluwin Wayadan Family Safety Collaboration is ACWA’s place-based demonstration project in Dubbo and Wellington, in Central West NSW. It began as a pilot to co-design an integrated, trauma-informed response for families impacted by domestic and family violence (DFV) and child protection concerns.
Co-designed with strong local involvement, including journey mapping by women with lived experience, the project identified key opportunities to improve service integration and outcomes for women and children. In 2023, ACWA partnered with DVNSW, AbSec, DCJ, NSW Health, and local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal service providers to define shared community outcomes and coordinated actions.
Now in its implementation phase, the project (funded by the NSW Government) focuses on using local strengths to enable early, collaborative, whole-of-family responses that promote safety, recovery, and long-term wellbeing.
ACWA’s Family Safety Collaboration Regional Coordinators have led local efforts to strengthen collaboration between child and family services and DFV specialists. Sector development highlights include the regional rollout of Safe & Together training and journey mapping workshops for caseworkers, both of which have been strongly endorsed by local practitioners.
In parallel, ACWA and DVNSW have officially commenced development of a business case for broader rollout of the Safe & Together model across NSW, in partnership with Social Ventures Australia. This work, aligned with ACWA’s Strategic Plan 2025 – 2027, is focused on engaging key stakeholders and identifying pathways to successful implementation. Preliminary findings and opportunities for early investment by ACWA are expected to be presented in September 2025.
DFV Training Offered via CCWT
ACWA’s Centre for Community Welfare Training (CCWT) supports quality domestic and family violence (DFV) practice through a wide range of targeted training opportunities (see below).
In response to the passing of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022, which introduced a new offence for coercive control in intimate partner relationships, effective July 2024, CCWT partnered with the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) NSW to deliver free, specialised face-to-face training for frontline practitioners. This initiative addressed key recommendations from the NSW Joint Select Committee on Coercive Control.
Between June 2024 and April 2025, the coercive control training was successfully rolled out across the state, reaching over 2,000 practitioners through 75 workshops delivered in metropolitan, rural, and regional centres. In addition to this, CCWT led a highly regarded coercive control webinar series, expanding access to knowledge and tools for those unable to attend in-person sessions. These webinars are ongoing and more info can be found here:
- Working with LGBTQ+ People Impacted by Coercive Control: What Practitioners need to know
- Combatting Technology Assisted Coercive Control: What Practitioners Need to Know
- Combating Economic Coercive Control: What Practitioners Need to know
- Amplifying the Voices of Children and Young people in Family and Domestic Violence and Coercive Control: Practitioner Strategies
Organisations can now request in-house coercive control workshops by contacting: ccproject@ccwt.edu.au
You can find more information and resources on coercive control here
Current DFV Training Topics:
- Understanding and Responding to Domestic Violence
- Domestic and Family Violence: Understanding the Impact on Children
- Working with Children and Young People Affected by Family and Domestic Violence
- Responding Effectively to People who have Experienced Sexual Violence
- Using Narrative Therapy to Respond to Domestic and Family Violence
- NEW TRAINING (2nd half of 2025) Embedding DFV Safety Planning into Everyday Practice
To suggest or request additional DFV training, please email ccwt@ccwt.edu.au
Resources
Resources for children and young people impacted by domestic violence and coercive control.
CCWT Coercive Control Webinar Series
Webinar series delivered in partnership with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Barnardos Scotland : Therapeutic Resources for supporting children
including a list of books and resources to support therapeutic conversations with kids who have experienced domestic and family violence
Kids’ coercive control web
A great child-informed resource detailing how children experience a parent’s use of coercive control.
The CHANGE Feedback Tool
A tool designed to support anyone working children and young people to uphold children’s right to participation in decisions and services that impact them.
Early Intervention & Prevention Resources
Our Watch
National leader in the primary prevention of violence against women. Offers frameworks like Change the Story, tools for schools, workplaces, and communities, and prevention campaigns.
NAPCAN
National organisation for prevention of child abuse and neglect. NAPCAN also providers Love bites, Child Safe Organisation, and Mandatory Reporter training
Raising Children Network – Family Violence
Accessible information and videos on recognising and responding to family violence, aimed at parents and caregivers.
Coercive Control Resources
Amplifying the Voices of Children and Young People in Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence and Coercive Control: Practitioner Strategies
A webinar that focuses on how practitioners can amplify children’s and young people’s voices in contexts of coercive control.
Insight Exchange
Provides powerful victim-survivor-informed resources and education materials on coercive control, including the lived experience insights of adults and children.
Combatting Technology Assisted Coercive Control: What Practitioners Need to Know
The second webinar in the “Effective Interventions & Coercive Control” series (held 18 March 2025), exploring how coercive control is enacted through technology and how practitioners can respond.
Working with LGBTQ+ People Impacted by Coercive Control: What Practitioners Need to Know
The third in the series (ran 20 May 2025), focusing on the intersection of coercive control and LGBTQ+ relationships and how practitioners can support this community.
Working with Aboriginal People Impacted by Coercive Control: What Practitioners Need to Know
Webinar #4 (rescheduled to 22 October 2025), centring on how coercive control is experienced in Aboriginal communities and how practitioners can respond appropriately. Register / info
Research and Data
Australian National Research Organisation on Women’s Safety
ANROWS commissions and disseminates high quality research that supports ending violence against women and children in Australia, in line with Australia’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) – Child and Family Wellbeing
Offers extensive resources on protective factors, early support, and integrated services for vulnerable families.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
BOCSAR publishes data and research about crime in NSW, including key data about domestic violence.
Additional Contacts
Domestic Violence NSW
(DVNSW) is the peak body for specialist domestic and family violence services in New South Wales.
No to Violence
A peak body for Australian organisations and individuals who work with men to end family violence, providing advocacy, sector development and training. NTV also runs the Men’s Referral Service, a men’s family violence telephone counselling, information and referral service providing a contact point for men taking responsibility for their violent behaviour.
1800RESPECT
1800 737 732. Confidential information, counselling and support service available for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support people impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence.