In May, The Telegraph highlighted a concerning surge in family violence in Mitchell Shire, with Seymour’s rate of those affected skyrocketing to 2163.5 per 100,000 people — almost double the state average of 1384.7.
To combat this, the Victorian Government announced a new program to help attract, recruit and retain frontline workers in the family violence and sexual assault sectors.
Included in this new program is local provider Nexus Primary Health. It will deliver the Goulburn Demonstration Project, which will encourage retention and recruitment of staff with secondments to agencies.
It will also create shared induction and education programs for staff throughout the region.
Victorian Prevention of Family Violence Minister Vicki Ward said supporting victim survivors through some of the most difficult times of their life was rewarding and challenging work.
“We are pulling all the levers to address family violence across Victoria; this includes backing our remarkable workforce regarding recruitment and retention. Innovative programs like this are an incredibly important part of this work,” she said.
However, state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland criticised the announcement, likening it to a trade-off.
She pointed out that just weeks earlier, the same health service had to slash its mental health counselling program due to funding shortages, but the Department of Health confirmed that it has not cut mental health funding to Nexus Primary Health.
“Mental health services are a crucial preventative measure for other major concerns, including family violence — yet this has been stripped away in favour of staff training,” she said.
“This feels like a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul — with this government deciding it will only provide funding for one major issue at a time in our regional communities.
The government will inject $1 million into the initiative, funding four of what it describes as cutting-edge programs. These will explore strategies for worker attraction, recruitment and retention, with a strong emphasis on fostering local partnerships.
“This new program will continue our nation-leading work to prevent and respond to family violence in Victoria,” parliamentary secretary for men’s behaviour change Tim Richardson said.
Ms Cleeland stressed that both mental health and family violence issues merited funding to improve the region.
“Both issues are deserving of funding for the betterment of our region and must both receive the support needed to effectively offer sustainable, long-term solutions in the mental health and family violence spheres,” she said.
“This announcement reeks of being yet another one of Labor’s ad-hoc and poorly planned initiatives that will fail to bring effective change for those who need it most.”
A Victorian State Government spokesperson said that the Workforce Vacancies Demonstration Program will trial new ways to attract, recruit and retain frontline workers in the family violence and sexual assault sectors, with a focus on local partnerships.
“The Program involves four projects designed to find information and test innovative models that can be shared across the sector,” they said.
“There are three rural and regional projects and a fourth covering two metropolitan areas.”