Building Bridges Forum 2025

About

The Building Bridges Forum is an annual initiative delivered by the Northern Integrated Family Violence Services designed to address emerging local area need and to enhance collaboration across the prescribed service sector under the MARAM Framework.  

This year will focus on the experiences of children and young people experiencing family violence and will explore opportunities to strengthen service visibility and sector collaboration.

Event Details

📅Date: Thursday 24 July 2025
📍 Venue: Aborigines Advancement League, 2 Watt Street, Thornbury, VIC 3071'
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM to 2:45 PM
🎟️ Tickets: $50

What to expect

🔹 Panel Discussions – Hear from sector experts exploring best-practice responses, legal responsibilities, child protection, and collaborative care models for children and young people experiencing and / or using family violence.
💬 Interactive Reflection Session – Join table groups to unpack key learnings, exchange insights, and foster stronger working relationships.
🤝 Networking & Service Stalls – Connect with colleagues, explore service stalls, and strengthen professional partnerships across the Northern Metropolitan Region (NMR).

Panel Discussions

📌 Panel 1: You will hear from representatives from services that engage with children and families experiencing family violence at the point of intake and assessment, particularly considering legal responsibilities and child protection. Discussions will explore best practice responses for a collective response that upholds the rights, best interests and needs of the children and family experiencing family violence.  

📌 Panel 2: You will hear from practitioners working in and across children’s services that engage with family violence and will reflect the services involved in a care team. This session will focus on peer knowledge sharing and experiences of best practice and pathways for collaborative, wrap-around service support for children and young people experiencing family violence.  

Why Attend?

✅ Gain expert insights into sector best practices
✅ Strengthen professional relationships and build new connections
✅ Participate in interactive discussions and peer knowledge-sharing
✅ Expand service visibility and sector collaboration

Who should attend?

This event is open to all prescribed practitioners* under the MARAM Framework who work in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne (NMR).

*This event however would be particularly suited to practitioners in the NMR working in roles that engage with young children as part of their work and regularly also respond to past and current experiences of family violence.

FAQs

Got questions? Visit the FAQ section on our website. 

Acknowledgment of Country

The Northern Integrated Family Violence Services acknowledges Victorian Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we provide our services – the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation – and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
NIFVS acknowledges that Aboriginal sovereignty was never ceded and expresses hope for justice and reconciliation.