SPARK Webinar - Safe & Together: working at the speed of trust

As the NSW government considered implementing the Safe & Together ™ framework, they had one critical question: Is it culturally safe? 

This SPARK webinar invites Queensland domestic and family violence practitioners into a critical and thoughtful conversation about the Safe & Together Framework through an Aboriginal lens . Drawing on ALFIES, a NSW-based research project funded by NSW Health Ministry of Health PARVAN in partnership with Melbourne University exploring whole of family approaches, members of the research team will share what they learned from working alongside Aboriginal communities and practitioners, and how the model can be thoughtfully adapted to better reflect Aboriginal ways of keeping families safe, strong and connected. 

Safe & Together has been embedded across Queensland for many years and has been the subject of substantial local and national research. Yet questions and critiques have persisted, particularly about how accountability focused practice sits alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities for holistic healing, cultural responsibility and keeping families together. This webinar creates space to explore those tensions honestly and to reflect on emerging evidence that, when modified and applied with cultural authority, leadership and collaboration, Safe & Together can support more effective and culturally responsive practice. 

This webinar offers grounded insights, practical reflections and prompts for discussion about what these findings might mean for practice in Queensland. Whether you are deeply familiar with Safe & Together or still grappling with its application, this webinar will support critical reflection, learning and dialogue about working safely, respectfully and effectively with Aboriginal families. 

Learning Outcomes 

• Increased understanding of how to safely apply the Safe & Together framework in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island contexts 

Event details

Date: Thursday, 25th June 2026
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm AEST
Location: Online

Who should attend

Practitioners and leaders in the domestic and family violence sector, particularly those whose work intersects with the child protection sector.  

This SPARK will also be of interest to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and people who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.  

About the Presenters

Marlene Lauw 

Marlene Lauw is a Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal woman and a highly respected Aboriginal leader, researcher, and policy specialist in domestic and family violence. She is a Chief Investigator on the ALFIES Project and currently works as a Senior Statewide Educator at the NSW Health Education Centre Against Violence, a role she has held with pride for 25 years. Marlene has also worked as a Principal Policy Officer in the NSW Ministry of Health’s Prevention and Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect portfolio. She has dedicated her career to Aboriginal-led workforce development, cultural safety, and whole-of-family responses to violence, abuse and neglect including seminal work in building Aboriginal family violence practice capability. Her contributions consistently centre Aboriginal sovereignty, lived experience, and culturally rigorous approaches to accountability, healing, and safety. 

Jackie Wruck 

Jackie Wruck is a proud Yidinjdji woman from Far North Queensland and the Asia Pacific Regional Manager at the Safe & Together Institute™. She is an accredited Safe & Together trainer and consultant with extensive experience supporting systems and services to apply the model in culturally respectful and community‑led ways. Jackie has played a key role in national research and practice initiatives exploring how Safe & Together can align with Aboriginal worldviews, kinship systems and holistic approaches to keeping families safe, and was a consultant to the ALFIES research project. Her work is grounded in cultural authority, strengths‑based practice and bridging Western frameworks with Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. 

Cherie Toivonen 

Cherie Toivonen is an independent researcher and evaluator and the Director of CLT Byron Consulting, with over 20 years’ experience working in domestic and family violence, child protection, mental health and integrated service systems. She has led and managed multiple large‑scale, multi‑agency research projects across NSW and nationally, including contributing to ANROWS‑funded studies and the development of the National Risk Assessment Principles for DFV. Cherie was the Research Project Manager and Chief Investigator on the ALFIES Project and has been closely involved in evidence‑building related to the Safe & Together Model in Australian contexts. She brings a strong commitment to co‑design, critical reflection and accountability to Aboriginal communities in all aspects of her work.