Commitment to Aboriginal Family Safety and Healing

VACCA is committed to promoting and upholding the rights of Aboriginal children and families to feel and be safe, and to live in an environment free from abuse, neglect and violence.

Our approach to family violence is aligned to our organisational principles – upholding the best interests of the child, self-determination, culture, and healing. Our practice framework of Cultural Therapeutic Ways – Our Work, Our Way is trauma-informed and underpinned by culture and self-determination.

We are the largest provider of Aboriginal family violence services in Victoria.

Our holistic support programs are inclusive of the whole family, and span prevention, early intervention, crisis response, and healing and recovery to break the cycle of family violence.

Family violence undermines the pivotal role families play in protecting our children and passing on our culture.

Family violence is not and never has been a part of Aboriginal culture. Staff at VACCA work within the Victorian Government’s Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) framework in a culturally safe way. We do this by embedding the framework’s four pillars and 10 responsibilities with a culturally responsive lens at all levels of our programs and services.

Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme

VACCA is an authorised Risk Assessment Entity (RAE) and Information Sharing Entity (ISE) under both the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS) and Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS). To place a FVISS or CISS request to VACCA please access the Information Sharing Entity List here for the most up-to-date contact information. 

There are times when we share information about community members (clients).

With their consent:

• when the community member agrees and where possible,
• with professionals supporting the community member.

Without their consent if:

• There are concerns for the community member or someone else’s safety.
• In an emergency.
• Required by law or for legal reasons.
• It is necessary among the professionals supporting the community member (when consent cannot be obtained).
• VACCA needs to share information for funding agreement purposes (however VACCA will not identify the community member).

To place a FVISS or CISS request to VACCA please click on the link here to access the Information Sharing Entity List for the most up-to-date contact information.

Policy and Procedure Resources

• VACCA Family Violence Policy

VACCA Family Violence Resources

• Yarn Safe - a video designed for mainstream family violence and universal community services practitioners and organisations.
• Lubly Consent resources - sexual consent resources for young people.
• Safe Koorie Families - to promote conversations in community about everyday examples of family violence.

Posters and fact sheets:

• Family Violence is NOT just Physical
• Elder Abuse 
• Tech Abuse & eSafety
• Family Violence Impact Model
• CISS Information Sharing - Aboriginal Child Wellbeing
• CISS Information Sharing - 4 Steps
• CISS Information Sharing - Checklist 

Additional Resources

• Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way - a community-led response to end family violence against Aboriginal peple, underpinned by self-determination.
• Nargneit Birrang - a framework to guide the flexible design, funding, implementation and evaluation of Aboriginal-lead holistic healing programs for family violence in Victoria. 
• Our Ways, Strong Ways, Our Voices - a national strategy to end family, domestic and sexual violence against First Nations women and children. 
• MARAM Framework - the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Asessment and Management framework designed to increase the safety and wellbeing of Victorians.
• Changing the Picture - a set of actions that are needed to address the many drivers of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. 

Our Programs

• Case Management For Adults Who Use Violence
• Choose Deadly - Adolescents Using Family Violence
• Family Violence Case Management
• Family Violence Therapeutic
• Orana Gunya 
• The Orange Door
• Yananganyin - Journey Walker
• Aboriginal Sexual Assault Healing

Family Violence Prevention

Our work in family violence prevention addresses the underlying drivers of violence, while strengthening protective factors that support safe, healthy and respectful relationships. This includes cultural connection, identity, belonging, safe families and connected communities. This work sits at the centre of supporting strong and thriving, safe Aboriginal families and communities.

At VACCA, our family violence prevention initiatives support children and young people to build healthy and respectful relationships. This work aligns with our Cultural Therapeutic Ways framework. Many staff at VACCA are trained, skilled and confident having culturally safe conversations about healthy respectful relationships with 8-17 years old. This includes yarning up about consent in all forms from boundaries to affirmative consent. This covers all types of relationships across these ages including:

• siblings
• peers and friends
• community
• family and kinship
• intimate partner/ romantic relationships.