Our Submission to the Consultation on the Second Action Plan (National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032)
6 August 2026
Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) has made a submission to the Department of Social Services Consultation on the Second Action Plan under Australia’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032. The Second Action Plan will guide Australia’s response to violence against women and children for the next 5 years.
Our submission highlighted RAV’s extensive expertise and experience in family violence, particularly within services supporting victim-survivors and behaviour change work with men using violence, as well as our prevention and early intervention work through educational groups for parents and children and our school-based programs.
RAV contended that mainstream family, relationships and wellbeing services have a significant role to play in Australia's early intervention responses to family violence. Family support services are key points of contact, engagement and disclosure for victim-survivors. Our submission argued that generalist family support services must be equipped to meet the needs of clients experiencing family violence.
Services to help couples separate amicably when relationships end are also vitally important, given that separation involves heightened risk of family violence. We argued that adequate funding for family dispute resolution services, including therapeutic family violence case management, and the establishment of new Family Relationship Centres in growth areas, should be viewed as investments in family violence intervention as well as in family law support.
Our submission argued that continued investment is needed to strengthen and expand men’s behaviour change programs to ensure they are accessible, effective and responsive to the needs of communities. We pointed to the need for tailored programs delivered to minority and high-risk groups (e.g. culturally specific groups delivered in language, and programs for young people using violence).
We also emphasised the need to scale sustained prevention efforts starting in early childhood and school settings, so that they are consistent and universally accessible. Finally, we recommended that recovery and healing should be funded and resourced as a distinct, longer-term phase of the family violence response.
RAV’s submission to the Consultation demonstrates our commitment to engaging with family violence issues and to improving service responses to this pervasive problem, in the interests of safety for all Australians.