legislation across Australian states and territories (COAG, 2011). Lastly, in 2015, the
Council of Australian Governments endorsed the National Outcome Standards for Perpe-
trator Intervention to ensure perpetrator interventions across Australia are both consistent
and focused on measurable outcomes (Department of Social Services, 2015). These
approaches are overwhelmingly implemented through an emphasis on client group and
service provision. Multi-agency collaborations and integrated responses are widely recog-
nised as “best practice” in responding to domestic and family violence (Valentine &
Breckenridge, 2016). The work of providing diverse services across the complex realms
of victim, family, and perpetrator services is demanding and complex, however, the work-
force providing these services is largely invisible and has not benefitted from a comprehen-
sive workforce development strategy. Little is known in the public domain about how
workers provide help to victims and perpetrators—and less so about those working
with Aboriginal families and community members (Putt, Holder, & O’Leary, 2017).
There are limited data on who is doing this work, the nature of the work, workplace struc-
tures and culture, and work environments and conditions across the domestic and family
violence sector (Merchant & Whiting, 2015).
Thus, the question of how to best support a workforce that operates at the coalface of
domestic and family violence in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal contexts demands atten-
tion. We argue that this workforce needs to be recognised and championed as a priority,
not simply a footnote to service delivery or client outcomes. This will require an analysis of
the complex and intersectional gendered nature of domestic and family violence work.
This paper aims to start a conversation about the domestic and family violence workforce
composition, the challenges in meeting demand and expectations, and the gaps in knowl-
edge about work conditions and workforce strategy. It does so by engaging with key policy
documents, with an emphasis on the Family Safety Victoria Census of workforces that
intersect with family violence (Victoria State Government, 2017a) and Responding to
Family Violence Capability Framework (Victoria State Government, 2017b). Acknowled-
ging the central role that social work occupies in the domestic and family violence space,
this paper also considers implications of these broader policy and practice demands for
social work leadership. The discussion applies a gendered lens to these issues and also
recognises that conversations must be accountable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, and open to the unique circumstances and conditions experienced by Aboriginal
workers. Thus, we highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data from these key
policy documents where possible.
Policy Recognition of the Domestic and Family Violence Workforce
Despite significant attention and support for domestic and family violence treatment and
prevention, we are only now starting to see the phrase “strengthen the workforce” adopted
within Commonwealth and state plans, strategic policy, and working groups. “Strengthen
the workforce” is one of four “foundations for change” spanning the Action Plans of the
National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (COAG, 2016). Sup-
porting “specialist domestic violence and sexual services to deliver responses that meet
needs” is a key strategy (4.2) in the National Plan, and the development of a “National
Workforce Agenda” focused on supporting and improving the workforce identified as
an immediate national priority (COAG, 2011, p. 23). More recently, the Third Action
2 S. WENDT ET AL.

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