Specialist Family Violence Practitioner - Refuge

Our people matter. Without them, we would be unable to make a meaningful impact in the lives of people facing homelessness and family violence. This is our motivation in creating wayss as a great place to work.

wayss is the largest provider of family violence, homelessness, housing and services in the South East Melbourne area. We exist so people can live a life free from family violence and have access to safe, sustainable and affordable housing.

Our vision is to be the major provider of social housing services and leading edge client support programs in the Southern Melbourne Metropolitan region.

We deliver funded services and programs across the local government areas of Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Casey and Cardinia.

wayss Family Violence program delivers a range of services in response to women and children experiencing or escaping family violence. They include:

• Family Violence Refuge
• Rapid Response, including after-hours support
• Case Management
• RAMP
• Personal Safety Initiative
• Family Violence Housing Pathways
• Therapeutic children’s work
• Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS), based at Family Court
• Family Violence/Child Protection Partnership
• The Orange Door, Southern Melbourne area

About the role
This position is based at SWISS, a purpose-built family violence crisis refuge that provides 24/7 support and accommodation for people who identify as female and their accompanying children.

Reporting to the Team Leader, the position works collaboratively as part of an integrated refuge team to respond to the needs of women and children through case management support. The Practitioner is a key point of contact and engagement for women and their children in residence and works within a specialist family violence discipline to provide information, advocacy, referral and support to clients with a focus on risk assessment and safety.

About you

• Relevant tertiary qualification(s) in social work, or a related discipline. (Compliant with Family Violence Minimum Qualifications (Rec 209) https://www.vic.gov.au/mandatory-minimum-qualifications-specialist-family-violence-practitioners
• Experience working with women and their children with complex needs and risk issues in the community services sector.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, assess and prioritise the risk and needs of clients including the use of the MARAM tool.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to provide case management support to people experiencing family violence including safety planning, advocacy, consultation, facilitating referrals and case noting.
• Resilience to work with and support clients who have been exposed to trauma
• The ability to work collaboratively and build strong, authentic and supportive working relationships.
• The ability to recognise and identify limits of own expertise and to seek advice or refer clients to other specialists.
• A commitment to best practice and work towards the best possible outcomes.

This role requires a current Driver’s Licence and valid ‘Employment’ category - Working with Children Check Clearance. The candidate will need to have successfully completed wayss pre-employment screening, including a police and identity check.

Applications
Applications close on Friday 5 September 2025, however, may close sooner if a successful candidate is selected.

Please ensure you include a covering letter, outlining your experience in relation to the "About You" section. Enquiries about the position can be directed to Brenna Johnstone, Manager, Family Violence Response program on 8797 1607.

wayss is proud to be an inclusive and child safe organisation.

wayss is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to being an organisation that embraces a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion within our workforce and approach to service delivery. We encourage people with lived experience to apply for roles at wayss. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic communities, people of all ages and LGBTIQ people. wayss is a proud Rainbow Tick accredited organisation that welcomes everyone across the LGBTIQ community.