National Australian Workforce Study Recommends Mandating Safe & Together Training

Researchers at UNSW Sydney and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) surveyed 95 service providers, managers, and researchers across the domestic, family, and sexual violence sector to identify what’s working—and what isn’t—in Australia’s response to violence. Among their 13 recommendations, Recommendation 6 calls for mandated Safe & Together™ Model training for professionals in child protection, police, magistrates, judicial registrars, and expert witnesses, with training expanded to health, education, and legal services working with affected families.

Respondents pointed to a child-focused, whole-of-family model as a promising alternative to the “failure to protect” framework, which the report’s authors found tends to entrench victim-blaming rather than hold perpetrators accountable. The researchers specifically named the Safe & Together Model as an example of the kind of approach the workforce sees as effective.

The broader report surveys systemic gaps across all six outcome areas of Australia’s National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, from community safety and justice responses to perpetrator accountability. Its recommendations span housing, funding, bystander training, and workforce development, in addition to the specific call for Safe & Together training.