A Courageous, Connected and Capable Workforce – Co-creating our Strategic Workforce Plan

Across Queensland, the domestic and family violence, sexual violence, and women’s health and wellbeing sector is driven by passionate, skilled, and deeply committed people. Every day, this workforce shows up  — working in solidarity to support safety, justice and healing.

Now, we have an opportunity to build on our strength.

We are engaging in Strategic Workforce Planning, designed to support and sustain a workforce that is courageous, connected, and capable. This inclusive process will see the co-creation of the Strategic Workforce Plan for our sector – responding to workforce needs, building capability and capacity, and ultimately supporting meaningful outcomes for service users. This is your opportunity to help shape our workforce, so it reflects the values, realities, expertise, and aspirations of our sector now and into the future.

STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING  face-to-face WORKSHOPS

WorkUP is facilitating face-to-face workshops across the state to enable the sector to come together and help shape the future of our workforce. Come along to contribute to our collective understanding of current workforce issues and hopes for our future workforce.  These workshops allow us to co-create strategies that support individuals, teams, and organisations to thrive.  We will reflect on the previous workforce plan and workshop our sectors best way forward together.

The face-to-face workshops are a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with peers, provide feedback and share your valuable insights and experiences. It is vital that we hear from as much of the sector as possible to capture its diversity and ensure our workforce development offerings are truly representative of the sectors’ values, realities and aspirations.

Join us for the three-hour workshops at the following locations:

• Hervey Bay: 28^th of October
• Rockhampton: 5^th of November
• Cairns: 13^th of November
• Coomera: 19^th of November
• Brisbane: 21^st of November

Venues to be confirmed.

Strategic workforce planning is about imagining the workforce we want, recognising the strengths we already have, and putting in place purposeful, achievable steps to grow, connect, develop, and sustain it.

Your insights, experience, and leadership are not just welcome, they are critical and will guide our work for years to come.

2025 WORKFORCE SURVEY INSIGHTS RELEASE – STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING

The launch of our Workforce planning process will commence with the release of our workforce survey insights.

WorkUP’s workforce survey provides valuable insights from the sector to support us to better understand our workforce, the strengths and the challenges. This is a vital component of strategic workforce planning. WorkUP’s John Turrisi and Alisa Hall will be sharing these survey insights alongside Dr John Chan from Infinite Potential who together with Ronan Analytics designed the surveys with us.

Our fourth workforce survey tells the story of a workforce that is value and purpose driven. It shows a workforce that works hard to create exceptional workplaces that are deeply engaged, where teams work well together and workers are resilient. The survey insights provide important data to bring into our workforce planning. We will also explore the vital role of strategic workforce planning in building upon these strengths, addressing the challenges and developing our sector’s pathway forward.

Register here: 2025 Workforce Survey Insights Release – A compelling story of a courageous, connected and capable workforce

Get involved. Lead the change. Let’s shape the future of our workforce together.

Every conversation matters.

We look forward to collaborating with you.

Building Capacity for Domestic and Family Violence Response in Mt Isa

Services working together to strengthen pathways into the specialist DFV workforce in rural and remote areas.

The rapid growth of our sector’s workforce brings challenges in meeting attraction and recruitment demand, particularly in regional areas.

As a response to this critical workforce issue across the Mt Isa and Gulf region, individuals from a range of human service organisations came together to strengthen skills, share knowledge, and consider a pathway into the DFV workforce. This event was a collaborative partnership between CQU/QCDFVR, 54 Reasons and DVNQ, supported by WorkUP.

Opening career pathways into DFV

The event has already started influencing career journeys. As shared by Elvene Whitbread, Regional Manager of 54 Reasons, one participant confirmed they are now pursuing a career in the DFV sector, while others from youth work and mining expressed genuine interest in transitioning into this vital field. These outcomes highlight how training can both build skills and inspire new workforce entrants — supporting sector growth.

Diverse voices at the table

The two-day workshop attracted participants from a wide range of community services organisations. Experienced practitioners sat alongside newer staff, while others joined from outside the specialist sector, including representatives from the mining industry. This mix of perspectives enriched the discussions and created fresh opportunities for collaboration across sectors and provided an insight into working in the specialist DFV sector.

A participant’s reflection

A Mt Isa Team Leader from DVNQ, who attended to support group discussions, shared:

“I really enjoyed the training, the trainer was excellent on the topics she spoke about, everyone’s engagement was so good. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it, sharing my knowledge with other amazing DFV workers and other staff in different sectors learning the area.”

Why it matters

This professional development directly supports the WorkUP’s workforce planning priorities of growing and developing the workforce, particularly in rural and remote Queensland. By strengthening skills, fostering collaboration, and encouraging new entrants into the sector, it contributes to a sustainable and supported workforce. WorkUP would like to thank 54 Reasons and DVNQ for their collaboration in delivering this place-based workforce attraction initiative.

Next steps

To explore how WorkUP can support your region with attraction and recruitment, please contact us at workforce@healingfoundation.org.au.

Register for our upcoming DFV Foundations online workshops on our website.

Traineeships are more than you think 

Grow the Workforce: Strengthening VET pathways 

Did you know that there are people who can help you or your workplace secure government incentives? Traineeships are more than just jobs – they’re gateways to rewarding careers and upskilling in your workplace. They help sustain our workforce by supporting further growth and development.

WorkUP has partnered with Mas National (Mas) to provide a range of free government-funded and industry-funded services to support Australian apprentices, trainees, and employers. Mas provides services such as recruitment, administrative support, mentoring, career advice, and connections to training providers. Our Mas contact, Allison Cullen, is an experienced Apprenticeship Connect Australia Provider (ACAP) and can help employers, and their trainees access any eligible incentives. She also helps coordinate sign-ups and lodge Training Contracts.

We spoke with the Chief Executive Officer at Weipa Community Care, Paul Green, to hear how traineeship is impacting his team and their work.

“Here in Weipa Community Care we are committed to recruiting locally and developing capacity in the local community but so many times cost and practical issues have been a barrier to achieving the upskilling we need. Isla and the team at WorkUP Queensland have taken time to understand our needs and work with partners to find lasting practical solutions such as traineeships for Cert IV qualifications that will make the difference for our team, and we hope provide a blueprint for our community partners. We are very excited to see where this journey leads.”

–  Chief Executive Officer Paul Green

Available to anyone aged 15 and over, programs span over a huge range of occupations across a diverse range of industries including our sector.

If you are a worker, traineeships offer the opportunity to:

• Earn while you learn
• Receive a nationally recognised qualification
• Gain hands-on experience
• Pursue flexible pathways to higher learning
• Progress your career
• Avoid a HECS-HELP debt

If you are a service leader or manager, traineeships:

• Help existing workers enhance skills while on the job
• Involve a training contract with the employer
• Offer online and in-person components
• Offer financial incentives to employers through government incentives
• Focus on practical skills development in the workplace
• Offer full-time employees $5,000 from the Federal Government over two years OR $2,500 for part-time employees over four years

To learn more information about traineeship for yourself or for your workplace, contact

Allison Cullen: Allison.Cullen@masnational.com.au – Ph: 0408 001 296 or
Isla Swan at WorkUP Queensland: isla.swan@healingfoundation.org.au for more information.

Participants from Townsville Walking Alongside with a reflection from facilitator Tania Felstead “It was a big two days and such a rewarding time together. We had a wonderfully diverse group join us, from Rockhampton, Ingham, Charters Towers, Townsville, Mt Isa and Palm Island! It was especially valuable to see experienced counsellors sharing alongside newer counsellors, with everyone showing so much care and interest.”

Walking Alongside – Micro-Counselling Skills Professional Development

Are you looking to enhance your practice to support your clients? WorkUP Queensland’s Walking Alongside: Counselling with Survivors of Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence workshop is a valuable opportunity to develop therapeutic expertise and refresh your knowledge and understanding. The 2-day workshop focuses on micro-counselling skills, the therapeutic alliance, and providing safety and connection throughout the therapeutic relationship.

The Cairns workshops are facilitated by Tania Felstead and Sue Kitchener, who each bring extensive knowledge and experience to make for a dynamic partnership. Together, they’ll share cultural insights, a commitment to healing and justice, and sustainable practice in the context of domestic, family, and sexual violence.

Walking Alongside supports participants to reflect on their professional practice, strengthen core counselling skills, and engage in peer-to-peer learning. This professional development is part of the range of offerings that WorkUP provides, which is informed by your feedback and insights during strategic workforce planning.

Whether you’re an emerging practitioner or an advanced practitioner, Walking Alongside will enable participants and strengthen sector capability.

Register now to secure your place for the October session: Walking Alongside: Counselling with Survivors of Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence – Cairns

Scholarship Program – Round 11 opens Monday 13 October!

Whether you want to upskill or expand your career in the sector, scholarships are a great way to pay costly tuition fees and pursue further studies. WorkUP Queensland is excited to open Scholarship Round 11 on Monday 13^th of October for accredited training and higher education.

We offer scholarships to the value of $15,000 for workers in target services of Queensland Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety. If you are a worker who delivers services for domestic and family violence, sexual violence, and women’s health and wellbeing services at any level across the organisation, you may be eligible.

Developing the workforce to continuously learn and develop practice is a priority of our current strategic workforce plan. The Scholarship program helps increase confidence and practice professional skills throughout the sector.

Our scholarship program is highly competitive, so we encourage you to register for a FREE lunchbox session for more details.

Register now for the Scholarship Round 11 Information Session (October 2025)

For more information, contact Isla Swan at workforce@healingfoundation.org.au or check out the Scholarship Program webpage.

Workshop participant Jane Metcalfe with facilitators Rosie O’Malley and ShantiWorks Tracy Castelino

Unpacking Practice Possibilities: Practitioner’s Perspective

Last month WorkUP Queensland hosted a Practice possibilities workshop on intimate partner homicide which is impacting practice throughout the state. The skilled ShantiWorks team; Tracy Castelino and Lisa French, created a safe space for Queensland practitioners to examine their practice and assumptions of DFV homicide, reflect on their practice, and examine their risk assessment and management practices. Senior practitioners, like Jane Metcalfe from Mt Isa 54 Reasons, expressed how the training created a break from her usual work to prevent “over-flow”.

It was “a reminder of the practice that I try to do and need to really continue to do it because it’s okay to push. A reminder that I am on the right track, to not be complacent.” Jane found the workshop was “validating of her[my] practice,” and that “hearing people in the room, and knowing what they are doing too was great.”

As an embedded worker, she especially connected with Tracey Castelino’s challenge to “see beyond the window of what we usually get to respond to.” This pushed her to find ways of seeing past client’s initial ‘disengagement’ and question what might be behind this presentation.

Jane left the workshop with refreshed knowledge and reminded herself that “practice is about asking questions, some that you’re not always comfortable asking but you have to ask”. She left with a rejuvenated sense of confidence and willingness to lean into those uncomfortable questions. She also identified ways the team at Mt Isa could review high-risk indicators and identified frameworks they could use to better understand the complexities of today.

Ultimately, she reflected on the need “to better understand those who we work with”.

“Everyone has their boundaries and walls but it’s good to know what those are. Asking questions helps understand.”