Project description
Safe and Equal delivered the Foundations for Action: Understanding the primary prevention workforce in Victoria report in 2024, funded by the Centre for Workforce Excellence and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (11). The purpose of the report was to develop a detailed understanding of the nature and diversity of the current primary prevention workforce – across organisations, roles, sectors, settings, communities and locations – in order to support and develop this workforce into the future. Safe and Equal consulted with stakeholders, synthesised input, and outlined considerations for responding to current and future workforce needs.
Key findings
The project found that the prevention workforce has particular needs in terms of professional development and leadership training, career pathways, job security and conditions, and opportunities to connect and access support (particularly in the face of backlash and resistance).
Sustainable funding was identified as key to attracting, retaining and further developing a specialist workforce. In addition, the report found that a large amount of prevention activity is taking place across specialist primary prevention organisations, women’s health services, and family violence and sexual violence services, and in schools, councils, TAFEs, sports settings, universities, community-led services and organisations, community services, sexual health services, corporate settings, and research. The report noted that the breadth of this work is increasingly recognised and valued as an integral part of the workforce.
Key takeaway
This project from Safe and Equal delivered a thorough overview of progress and challenges in the Victorian prevention workforce, and suggested actions that will be important to implement over the coming years. The report discussed how organisations engaged in prevention need to identify ways of working better and more collaboratively with each other, to sustain what has been built to date, and continue to grow. This could be assisted by improving the visibility and valuing of prevention itself (and the people doing it), alongside efforts that support collaboration and organisational partnerships through trust building and relationship building over time. The project also highlighted that prevention leadership is not just found in an easily defined ‘sector’ but also exists through people leading the work across a much wider prevention system.