WorkUP Queensland Workforce Survey 2025 Overview

A compelling story of a capable and courageous workforce

WorkUP recently undertook it’s fourth workforce survey to provide a continued evidence-based understanding of the characteristics, challenges and needs of our workforce in Queensland.

This survey serves three critical purposes:

1. Provides insight into the characteristics of the workforce and highlights the strengths and unique ways of working.
2. Identifies the challenges that impact attraction and retention and signposts where greater care, investment, or structural change is needed.
3. Provides continued direction to WorkUP to inform and shape activities and strategies to strengthen and grow the workforce.

Throughout the report a range of WorkUP initiatives to grow, strengthen and sustain the workforce are showcased aligning with emerging survey themes.

What did we learn?

The survey data tells a compelling story: the workforce is values and purpose driven and the sector has the elements required to sustain its workforce.

The results highlight the hard work the sector has done to create exceptional workplaces that are deeply engaged, where teams work well together and workers are resilient.

Leaders emerge as a clear strength, who play a vital role in creating and sustaining wellbeing and employee engagement; and supporting and protecting their teams in challenging conditions. This underscores the skill of leaders in understanding the risks of psychosocial hazards and being proactive to mitigate the risks to their workers.

The workforce is growing, and while this growth is necessary, it impacts workplaces and workers in terms of onboarding time, workload, response times, waitlists, and overall workplace stability and relationships. This continued growth will require ongoing support to strengthen pathways into the sector.

Within the data there is also caution – the workforce is experiencing exhaustion and reports workload and time pressure, understaffing and a high administrative burden. This is compounded by increasing complexity and demand, ongoing challenges related to recruiting key roles and ensuring the right experience and skills.  Workers signpost that they feel their wellbeing would likely be worse off in 12 months’ time.

The story is one of courage and capability which should be recognised, resourced and celebrated.  We must also listen when stress is signalled and focus our collective efforts on responding to these challenges, building on the clear strengths of the sector.

What’s next

The survey highlights pain points for further discussion, planning and action at the sector and workplace level, some of these include:

• Opportunities for career advancement and promotion appear limited which risks stalling the progression of future leaders.
• The workforce profile is diverse but requires tailored approaches at the sector and workplace level to ensure environments where all workers can thrive.
• Supervision is critical for practitioners and leaders in the work they do and needs to be accessible for all workers.
• The continued growth of the workforce impacts workplaces and existing workers and requires an ongoing focus to strengthen pathways into the sector.
• Leaders are critical to the wellbeing and performance of workers and ongoing and targeted strategies are needed to continue to support and nurture their development.
• The safety and wellbeing of workers is critical, data indicates workers are witnessing or experiencing harassment or bullying in the workplace.

To explore these challenges together and shape practical strategies and actions to continue to grow, develop and support the workforce please join us at our upcoming strategic workforce planning workshops.

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

We thank the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence, Sexual Violence and Women’s Health and Wellbeing specialist workforce for participating in this survey and sharing their thoughtful and detailed perspectives and pay thanks to the WorkUP reference group for their generous support and insights.

Access the 2025 Workforce Survey report here.

I like… I wish… I wonder…

Co-creating our Strategic Workforce Plan

Over the last year, WorkUP has delivered a wide range of initiatives to support workforce development across our sector. But we want to know — where to now?

Have you ever reflected on:

• What do you like about what WorkUP has delivered over the last year? 

• What do you wish were other workforce development activities WorkUP could deliver?

• Have you wondered how WorkUP can respond to the needs of the sector? 

If these questions have crossed your mind — you’re already engaging in the visioning that drives strategic workforce planning.

Now, we want to hear from you.

We’re inviting you to be part of the conversation. Your insights, experiences, and ideas are crucial as we co-create the next phase of our Strategic Workforce Plan. This is your opportunity to influence the direction of workforce development across the sector — and to engage with peers who are also passionate about creating meaningful change.

Come together, share your voice and as a collective, identify and reflect on the sector’s needs, both now and forecasting into the future. The feedback and insights from these workshops will directly shape the resources, professional development and priorities of WorkUP.

Every conversation matters.

Join us at one of our 3-hour strategic workforce planning workshops, in the location closest to you.

Click here for more information and to register.

WorkUP Queensland Reference Group – Expressions of Interest Now Open

WorkUP is seeking expressions of interest from workers in the domestic and family violence, sexual violence and women’s health and wellbeing sector to become a member of our Reference Group. Our Reference Group is a key component of the governance of WorkUP, with its members offering insights to help shape our priorities and objectives.

Through providing insights, input and feedback on emerging workforce issues, our Reference Group informs the development of our workforce plans and strategies.

Our Reference Group members work collaboratively to share their unique insights and experiences. We aim to reflect the diversity of our sector across the membership of the Reference Group, by bringing together people from varied experiences, job types and services from different parts of the state. Bringing in the many diverse voices makes for deep conversations and valued sector input.

The Reference Group meetings are a full day commitment, around three times a year, twice online with one face-to-face meeting.

We are grateful to our Reference Group members and want to acknowledge the wisdom shared by those who have recently moved on. As a result, we are looking to fill three positions.

To learn more about the role of our Reference Group, read through our Terms of Reference and Application Process and to apply, fill out our online application here WorkUP Queensland Reference Group EOI.

Expressions of interest for our Reference Group will close November 20^th, so please contact Louise Villanova at Louise@healingfoundation.org.au if you have any questions or want to know more about the membership.

Helping You Find, Welcome, and Support Great Staff 

One of the key workforce survey findings was that our Queensland workforce is growing. This growth is positive but comes with challenges like onboarding new staff, managing workloads and waitlists, and keeping workplaces stable and connected.

That’s why we want to remind you: We’re here to help!

Recruiting new workers is no small task. We know your time is precious, and every step—advertising, shortlisting, interviewing, reference checking, onboarding—takes careful attention.

The Workforce Capability Framework makes recruitment easier by giving you a clear picture of what ‘good’ looks like, helping you write position descriptions, run interviews with confidence, and keep the whole process fair, transparent, and values focused.

Our recent survey also highlighted the importance of values alignment—people want to work in roles with purpose. The framework goes beyond skills and knowledge, helping you focus on what really matters. The Job Interview Question Bank includes values-based questions that give you a sense of candidates’ alignment with your organisation and the sector.

Check out the Workforce Capability Framework and resources, and contact workforce@healingfoundation.org.au for support using these tools.

Recruitment is just the first step. The sector Induction Program is a great complement to your organisational induction. It provides a positive introduction to the people, purpose, and resources that make our sector unique. We have a one last Welcome to Our Sector induction series before the end of the year, so register your news workers now.

Let’s make recruiting and onboarding smoother, values-aligned, and more connected.

Essential Professional Development Resources for Supporting Women with Disability 

Our sector plays a pivotal role in ensuring women experiencing domestic, family, and sexual violence receive the support they need. Recognising the unique experiences and needs of women with disability, WorkUP Queensland has developed a dedicated collection of high-quality, practical resources to help workers and services respond in ways that are inclusive, safe, and effective.

The DFV and Disability section of the WorkUP QLD Resource Hub offers a suite of free, evidence-based tools—videos, fact sheets, and good practice guides—to build workforce capability across the sector. The resources cover key areas such as recognising signs of abuse, responding appropriately, understanding gendered violence through an intersectional lens, and creating accessible, disability-inclusive services.

A highlight of the resources is the Prevent, Recognise, Respond, Refer video series, featuring the lived experiences and insights of women with disability. These firsthand accounts offer powerful learning for all workers. Hear from Elisha who reminds us that women with disability have a right to feel safe and happy, and Karin, who provides helpful tips to support accessibility. Other resources explore the experiences of children and young people with disability, making them especially valuable for services working with families.

We encourage all workers to engage with these resources as part of ongoing professional development. They’re ideal for individual learning, team discussions, service design, and can help ensure our responses are trauma-informed, inclusive, and respectful of the diverse needs of women with disability.

Importantly, the resources also offer guidance on collaborating with advocates and the broader disability sector—connections that can significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of your work with women with disability.

Visit the DFV and Disability Resource Hub today: WorkUP QLD Resource Hub.

2025 Mentoring Program Wrap

As the 2025 Walking Together, Learning Together mentoring program wraps up, participants are reflecting on a year of deep learning, cultural connection and professional growth.

Participants of Walking Together, Learning Together mentoring program have said of their experience, “Coming into the program I was very focused on my weaknesses. Now I’m much more focused on my strengths”. The program has helped build confidence, clarify career direction, and open new leadership pathways.

Now in its fourth year, Walking Together, Learning Together is designed to strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce in the Domestic & Family Violence, Sexual Violence and Women’s Health & Wellbeing sector. It responds to the underrepresentation of First Nations workers and supports their growth as leaders and mentors.

The program offers a unique blend of professional development, cultural connection and healing informed practice. Through workshops, narrative coaching, weaving, and peer mentoring, participants build strong, culturally grounded relationships that continue beyond the program.

Expressions of interest are now open for the 2026 program. Be part of this transformative journey as a mentor or mentee by completing this form, or email jessie.robinson@healingfoundation.org.au for more information.

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