The specialist family violence sector is invited to consult on the redevelopment of the Mandatory Minimum Qualifications (MMQ) Policy for specialist family violence practitioners.

In late 2023, the Department of Families Fairness and Housing commissioned an evaluation of the MMQ Policy for specialist family violence practitioners, to review the effectiveness of the policy and identify areas for improvement. This included an Aboriginal led evaluation, assessing the impacts of the MMQ Policy on the Aboriginal family violence workforce. The evaluation took place across 2024, with extensive stakeholder consultation from April to June 2024.

The evaluation recommended changes to the MMQ Policy that are significant but consistent with its original intent, including to:

simplify the minimum qualification to be a relevant Degree, Graduate Certificate or Masters level qualification and remove the ‘equivalency principles’
clarify which workers roles the policy does or does not apply to
make the options for people to commence work without the required qualifications and work towards the minimum requirements over time simpler, easier to access and permanent, and
address concerns that family violence organisations have about possible consequences for not complying with the policy.

Changes to the policy are expected from late 2025.

To support the redevelopment of the MMQ Policy, the Centre for Workforce Excellence is holding consultations with the specialist family violence sector. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide input into possible changes to the policy and its implementation.

All regional consultations will also include an opportunity to discuss other local workforce challenges and opportunities.

Who should attend?

Team leaders, family violence program managers, hiring managers, people and culture leaders, and workforce development leaders, who:

work in an organisation employing family violence practitioners (including The Orange Door partner agencies)
have experience with MMQ Policy and its implementation, and
can represent the breadth of the family violence workforce.

Further information

Morning tea and lunch will be provided. Additional information will be sent out to attendees prior to their chosen consultation session.

If you have any questions or accessibility requirements, please feel free to contact the Centre for Workforce Excellence team by emailing cwe@dffh.vic.gov.au.

For more information on the MMQ Policy and the evaluation, you can visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/mandatory-minimum-qualifications-specialist-family-violence-practitioners.

You can get a copy of the evaluation report by emailing mmqpolicy@dffh.vic.gov.au.

Information collected through registration will be used by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing for the sole purpose of managing the event. The information collected is relevant to the persons attendance to the event only.

Locations and Dates

Monday 23 June: Frankston

Thursday 26 June: Morwell

Friday 27 June: Bairnsdale

Monday 30 June: Shepparton

Wednesday 2 July: Mildura

Friday 4 July: Ballarat

Monday 21 July: Online

Monday 28 July: Online

Tuesday 29 July: Sunshine

Thursday 31 July: Warrnambool