Agenda
The 2025 Overcoming Indigenous Family Violence Forum is now CPD Accredited. Attendees will receive 8 points per day, with a certificate immediately following the event.
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Day 1, May 27th
8:30
Welcome to Country
8:50
Chairperson's Opening Address

Thelma Schwartz, Principal Legal Officer, Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Services (QIFVLS)
POLICY, LEGISLATION AND RESEARCH REFLECTED IN CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICE DELIVERY
9:00
Taking a Human Rights-Based Approach to Overcoming Indigenous Family Violence
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Ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live with dignity and self determination
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Nurturing our children in culturally affirming environments to break cycles of intergenerational trauma
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Leveraging human rights principles to address systemic issues that perpetuate the disproportionate effects of violence in Indigenous communities

Katie Kiss, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
9:25



Panel: Understanding the Parameters of Coercive Control Legislation in Different States with a First Nations Lens
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How do different states approach education on coercive control to clients and service providers
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Helping clients to understand how to report coercive abuse
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Understanding the risks associated with criminalising coercive control for First Nations people and strategies to mitigate some of these risks
Moderator: Thelma Schwartz, Principal Legal Officer, Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS)
Tyne McConnon, Principal Lawyer, Family and Child Safety, Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service
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Jordan Smyth, Policy, Education, and Community Engagement Coordinator & Legal Practitioner, Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU)
10:00
Understanding the Data Narrative on Violence Against First Nations Women Through the Lens of Lived Experience
Incoming
10:30
Morning Tea
11:15
Indigenous Family Violence: The National Picture
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What are the national frameworks for addressing Indigenous family violence and how do they translate to place-based grassroots initiatives
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Examining the advantages of collaboration between national and local stakeholders
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Identifying barriers to adapting national strategies for Indigenous family violence to local contexts


Kerry Staines, Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
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Wynetta Dewis, Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS); Chair, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
LIVED EXPERIENCE TO ADVOCACY
11:40
Case Study: No Shame in my Game
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Finding healing and solace through music
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Supporting youth to tell their stories and be proud of their identity
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Promoting trauma recovery through narrative therapy and self-expression

Simone Stacey, Client Coordinator, Pamle Pamle Youth Support Services, Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good
12:00
Connection Workshops
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Weaving Workshop: Connect with culture, Country and each other as you join a weaving circle with your peers led by Erica Eurell, Traditional Custodian of the Yugambeh language region
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Guided Walk
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Cultural Dance
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Breaking Silent Codes of Sexual Violence in First Nations Communities: Yarn with Aunty Dixie Link-Gordon, Kowana Welsh and Yatungka Gordon as they discuss the importance of standing up and speaking out against sexual violence across Australia and the pacific.
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Understanding Tech-Facilitated Abuse: Community Experiences and Responses: Yarn with eSafety Commissioner’s Laura McVey and Stef Tipping as they open the floor to explore tech- facilitated abuse in domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV).
1:00
Lunch
2:15
Case Study: Mudgin-Gal The only Aboriginal Women's Centre in Metropolitan Sydney, Entirely Operated by and for Aboriginal Women
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How Mudgin-Gal uses culture and community to support women and children victims of domestic violence
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Helping women identify the early signs of an abusive relationship
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Sustaining our culturally informed care through the NSW government investment in Safe and Strong

Ashlee Donohue, Chief Executive Officer, Mudgin-Gal
2:40
Panel: What Can We Learn from the Lived Experience of First Nations Women on the Front Line of Service Provision
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Understanding where the service gaps are for First Nations women escaping violence
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The importance of understanding and communicating client needs to other service providers to ensure continuity of care

Mel Wilde, Senior Case Manager, Courts Innovation Program, Department of Justice
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Kowana Welsh, Lived Experience Advocate; Board Member, Full Stop Australia; Senior Project Officer, Women and Girls Emergency Centre
3:25
Afternoon Tea
HOLISTIC SUPPORT: ADDRESSING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS
3:55
Assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families Through Difficult Times
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Helping families in need to navigate the housing application process
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Maximising the chances of tenants maintaining their tenancy through ongoing client support

Mary Doctor, General Manager, Umpi Korumba Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Corporation for Housing
4:20
Case Study: Justice Reinvestment in Doomadgee Through Gunawuna Jungai
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Reducing contact with the criminal justice system through community empowerment
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Advocating for a shift towards community policing to foster a more supportive and effective law enforcement environment
4:50
Chairperson’s Closing Comments
5:0
End of Day One
Day 2, May 28
9:00
Chairperson's Opening Address

Thelma Schwartz, Principal Legal Officer, Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Services
9:10
International Keynote
Incoming
PROTECTION FOR OUR YOUTH
9:40
Case Study
Reserved (QIFVLS)
10:00
Case Study: NT Aboriginal Child Protection Notification and Referral Program
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Reducing the number of Aboriginal children in the child protection system in the NT
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The importance of notifying relevant services if a child will/ has been removed from their family
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Future directions for an effective child protection system in the NT

Toni Eyles, Project Officer, Child In Need of Protection Project, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)

Lee Vanderwarker, Project Manager, Child In Need of Protection Project, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
10:25
Morning Tea
10:55
Panel: Perspectives on Culturally Safe and Child-Centric Responses to Breaking the Cycle of Indigenous Family Violence
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Supporting young people who have been exposed to family violence to heal and break the cycle
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Working with government and non-government organisations and stakeholders to ensure the needs of First Nations children are reflected in child protection
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Understanding the healing needs of young boys exposed to domestic and family sexual violence

Moderator: Justin Power, Director, Member Services, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP)

Ashum Owen, Chief Executive Officer, Wakwakurna Kanyini
​BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR MEN AND CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALING
11:30
Connection Workshops
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Weaving Workshop: Connect with culture, Country and each other as you join a weaving circle with your peers led by Erica Eurell, Traditional Custodian of the Yugambeh language region
-
Guided Walk
-
Cultural Dance
-
Breaking Silent Codes of Sexual Violence in First Nations Communities: Yarn with Aunty Dixie Link-Gordon, Kowana Welsh and Yatungka Gordon as they discuss the importance of standing up and speaking out against sexual violence across Australia and the pacific.
-
Understanding Tech-Facilitated Abuse: Community Experiences and Responses: Yarn with eSafety Commissioner’s Laura McVey and Stef Tipping as they open the floor to explore tech- facilitated abuse in domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV).
12:30
Lunch
1:30
​Case Study: Strong Fathers, Strong Families
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Helping men to change their behaviour in a positive way for their families
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Teaching new Fathers to communicate and bond with their child to break the cycles of abuse they have been entrenched in
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Understanding the impact of a Father figures behaviour on their child’s development

Charlie Rowe, Programs Manager, Carbal ​
2:00
Yarning Session: The Importance of Community Designed and Led Programs Working with Men to Keep Communities Safe and Strong
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Addressing intergenerational trauma from the impacts of colonisation
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Taking a holistic and cultural approach to working with men rather than a punitive one


Nicholas Glause, Team Leader, Change Em Ways, Mens Outreach Service Aboriginal Corporation (MOSAC
Nelson Bieundurry, Cultural Guidance Worker, Change Em Ways, Mens Outreach Service Aboriginal Corporation (MOSAC)
CENTRING WOMEN’S VOICES
2:30
Keynote: The need to make Murdered and Missing First Nations Women Visible
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Addressing the misreporting of First Nations women affected by family violence
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Listening to the voices of First Nations women on the structural and systemic changes that need to be made

Dorinda Cox, Senator, Greens Party
2:50
Afternoon Tea
3:20
In a Post-Referendum World, Now More Than Ever Every Aboriginal Woman’s Self-Determination Must be Invested In
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Exploring how supporting Aboriginal women’s autonomy strengthens community-led solutions to family violence
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Advocating for sustained investment in culturally safe programs and services that prioritise Aboriginal women’s voices and leadership in a post-referendum context

Antoinette Braybrook, Chief Executive Officer, Djirra
3:50
Table Yarn and Reflection
4:20
Share your key learnings
4:55
Chairperson’s closing comments and end of Day two