SPEAQ Forum 2024

About the Forum

The SPEAQ Forum is Queensland’s practitioner oriented, interactive conference bringing together Domestic and Family Violence workers involved in interventions with those who perpetrate abuse. We welcome people in all roles associated with this work. As our key professional development event for the year, the purpose of this gathering is to connect, reflect, inform, share practice wisdom and explore new ideas to strengthen practice and strengthen the passion that drives our work. The SPEAQ Forum is different to many conferences, developed from the ground up by and for practitioners. With a strong focus on practice and on conversations between participants, it provides more than just great presentations by guest speakers, and fees are kept low enough to enable practitioner attendance. The Forum has been held annually since 2009, and we now welcome participants from around Australia, bringing unique perspectives from their part of the world to enrich our conversations and mutual learning.

Click here to download the SPEAQ Forum 2024 Flyer.

About SPEAQ

SPEAQ is Queensland’s network of practitioners and services providing interventions with those who perpetrate Domestic and Family Violence. We’ve been around for over 30 years, supporting the work with men and with partners or family members affected by their abuse. Our network connects and supports practitioners, co-ordinators and managers across Queensland. SPEAQ is the collective voice representing practitioners and services in this field in Queensland and is actively involved in sector development and consultation with government.

Read more about us at www.speaq.org.au/about

Event Details 

Who it's for: People working in or interested in intervention work with men who have used violence or abuse in their relationships, and the associated partner/family advocacy work. For practitioners and managers in men's DFV Intervention Programs (Men's Behaviour Change Programs) and in related and connected services.

What: SPEAQ Forum 2024.  Curiosity, Challenge and Change: Opening Space for New Possibilities

Where: voco Gold Coast, 31 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Read the Travel Information Guide for advice on how to get there.

When:
Pre-Forum workshops: Wednesday 13th November 9am to 12pm  and  1pm to 4:30pm
Day 1: Thursday 14th November – 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Day 2: Friday 15th November - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

(Note: Details are subject to change)

What does it cover?

This year's theme is Curiosity, Challenge and Change: Opening space for new possibilities.

SPEAQ Forum 2024 brings together local, national and international presenters and Qld network members in an interactive forum with a focus on broadening understanding and strengthening practice for DFV intervention practitioners.

Hear from international presenters Melissa (Petrangelo) Scaia (USA) and Ken McMaster (NZ); researcher Hayley Boxall from Australian National University; well-regarded men's behaviour change field educator and supervisor,Tori Cooke; Clinical Psychologist and researcher Dr Ron Frey from University of Tasmania and Qld University of Technology, and a host of Queensland DFV sector professionals and network members.

This year’s theme is about opening and exploring space for new possibilities as pathways to change. This applies both to our change work with persons using violence and how we as a sector are developing and responding to the social, organisational, and statutory environment that we are in. Curiosity challenges and disarms power and propels deeper understanding; it is foundational in creating cultures of engagement and innovation. Challenge, both uninvited and created, is an essential part of the change process that can be both uncomfortable and exciting. How can we best embrace these two powerful principles in our work to eliminate abuse?

This year's Forum provides:

• professional development facilitated by people with diverse experience in the field. 
• opportunity to develop practice ideas for intervention work in multiple contexts, with a special focus on Men's DFV Intervention Programs
• a chance to hear from women's and family advocates, centring their experience and knowledge when reflecting on the work with persons using violence
• an opportunity for a deeper dive into skills and knowledge for trauma-responsive practice
  
• opportunity to hear about new developments in the field and how services are dealing with a changing operating environment
  
• a chance to share practice wisdom and experiences with other practitioners
• a unique networking opportunity, bringing people together from within our specialist field, in Queensland and beyond
• an opportunity to further develop our practitioners and services network

The draft Programme Schedule can be downloaded here. Be sure to check back to this page for updates!

Information about previous SPEAQ Forums is available on this page. You will require a password which is simply the name of our network (not spelt out here because we don't want it crawled by web bots - if you're a human we are confident you'll work it out!). 

Pre-Forum workshops

This year we're offering 2 half day workshops on Wednesday 13/11/24.

Workshop 1, delivered by Melissa (Petrangelo) Scaia, Advanced Facilitation Skills: The Art of Dialogue. Flyer here. Click here to register.

Workshop 2, delivered by Ken McMaster, Assessing for Intervention with persons using DFSV. Flyer here. Click here to register.

SPEAQ Networking Dinner - tickets to come!

We will be holding a Forum Dinner on Thursday evening. This will be a great way to connect with colleagues and build your professional network while enjoying some great food and drink and having some good-natured fun! The event is open to non-attendees of the Forum.

Canapes and drinks commence at 6:30 pm followed by dinner at 7:00 pm.

Further details and tickets will be released shortly. Watch this space!

Travel Subsidy scheme

The SPEAQ Forum 2024 Travel Subsidy Scheme is designed to assist SPEAQ members from around Queensland, particularly in rural and remote regions, to travel to the Gold Coast for this year’s SPEAQ Forum. The subsidy covers travel and accommodation costs and a limited number of places are available to successful applicants. The maximum amount awarded to each successful applicant is $800.

Applications are now open and will close Friday 13 September 2024. 

Download the Information Sheet here.

Registration

Early Bird registration has now closed. Registration for the event and for individual days have now been released. 

Note: Member registration is available at a reduced price for current financial members of SPEAQ (i.e. employees of member organisations and Individual members). If you are unsure of your membership status, contact the organiser using the Contact Host button at the bottom of this page).

Click here to register.

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Thanks to our sponsor, WorkUP Queensland for their generous support of SPEAQ Forum 2024 through the Collaborative Grants program. Go to workupqld.org.au to find out more.

Thanks to our sponsor, Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research (CDFVR) for their generous support of SPEAQ Forum 2024 and their continued contribution to the forum. Go to Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research - CQUniversity to find out more.

Thanks to Challenge DV for their ongoing support of the SPEAQ Secretariat through our partnership MOU. Learn more at challengedv.org

SPEAQ acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of our land and sea. We acknowledge the Kombumerri people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters of the Gold Coast where the SPEAQ Forum 2024 will be held. We pay respects to all Elders, past, present and emerging as well as to the individuals and organisations working in their communities to address all forms of domestic and family violence.

Please note refund policy includes refund up to 14 days prior to the event (less booking and processing fees).