• Permanent full time and part time roles available - 3 days per week minimum
• Work during business hours only, Monday to Friday

About the Leaving Violence Program

From 1 July 2025, 54 reasons will be part of the delivery of the Leaving Violence Program, a nationally funded initiative by the Australian Government. The Program will support victim survivors who plan to leave or have left a violent intimate partner relationship by providing individualised financial support packages, as well as safety supports through risk assessments, safety planning and referral support.

The service operates Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (local time) across all Australian states and territories, excluding national public holidays. This nationwide structure ensures comprehensive coverage across all time zones.

Our Commitment and Program Principles

The Program is underpinned by four main principles:

• Trauma-informed - Individuals receive a trauma-informed, person-centred service
• Culturally responsive - Individuals receive a culturally informed service, with a specific focus for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Accountable - We are responsible and transparent to the Department of Social Services
• Ethical - We operate with honesty and integrity, and are trusted and diligent

The Program principles are designed to reflect and respond to each victim-survivor's experience of intimate partner violence. Using these Principles, the Program will provide for a trauma-informed and person-centred service by empowering choice and autonomy. The Program is a key initiative under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32, designed to complement other services available to victim-survivors that work towards ending gender-based violence.

What's the opportunity?

We are seeking Specialist Support Workers to support the Leaving Violence Program on behalf of the Australian Government. In this role, you will provide up to 12 weeks of intensive, tailored, and trauma-informed support to victim-survivors from priority cohorts who face complex challenges. Your work will focus on addressing high-risk situations, ensuring safety, and connecting individuals with specialist services to support their long-term recovery and stability.

About the role

As a Specialist Support Worker, you will work with victim-survivors with complex and intersectional issues to support them with structured care, whilst delivering the individualised financial support packages. You will work holistically, applying a person-centred, strengths-based, trauma informed and culturally safe approach to ensure individuals receive the right level of care and support as part of their engagement with the Leaving Violence Program, enabling their safety, choice and control.

Your key responsibilities will include:

Specialist case management and goal setting

• Use the SCORE framework to help victim-survivors of intimate partner violence set goals, establish objectives, and develop structured action plans that support their safety
• Provide intensive, ongoing emotional and practical support, ensuring victim-survivors feel validated and empowered with options to make informed decisions that enhance their safety
• Apply Motivational Interviewing techniques to foster autonomy and collaboration in decision-making

Complex risk management and safety planning

• Conduct ongoing risk assessments using the MARAM framework and adjust safety plans as circumstances evolve, recognising the dynamic nature of FDSV
• Manage high-risk cases, escalating these situations to Support Line Specialists or Clinical Practice Leads for second opinions and clinical direction when necessary
• Implement crisis intervention strategies, ensuring timely and effective responses to immediate safety concerns are actioned, including safety from FDSV and in support of mental health and wellbeing

Advanced referral and coordination of specialist services

• Provide warm and informed referrals to external services, including legal, housing, financial, mental health, and culturally specific support services as part of a "no wrong door'" approach
• Work closely with internal teams, Team Leaders, and Clinical Practice Leads to ensure best-practice service delivery
• Support victim-survivors in navigating complex service pathways, advocating for their needs within the broader social-service system, including with non-government and government-based organisations and programs

About you

To succeed in this role, you will need to meet the following:

Qualifications

• A Bachelor of Social Work, Psychology, Counselling, Counselling and Psychotherapy, Community Services OR
• If none of the above qualifications are held, a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Psychology), Psychological Science or Criminology is acceptable if accompanied by a post graduate qualification in Counselling or Psychology

Membership and credentials required

• Registered with AHPRA or relevant appropriate peak body for non AHPRA practitioners
• Verification of the right to work in Australia. If qualifications were obtained overseas, formal verification within Australia is required

Experience

• Three years of experience in risk and needs assessment, safety planning, and trauma-informed support specific to FDSV
• Proven experience in providing culturally responsive support and communication, ensuring services are inclusive, respectful, and accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• Experience in payments and fraud prevention is desirable

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse candidates to apply.

A place to belong:

At 54 reasons, we invest in the development and wellbeing of our people. Our workforce is approximately 600 people strong, and proudly diverse, whether in race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexuality, cultures and beliefs.

It takes all types of people to do the challenging work we do. We are diverse personalities, backgrounds and talents, embracing our differences as one strong and united team.

We see and celebrate the unique value you bring to our organisation, and offer a range of rewards for your effort, including:

• A flexible, remote work opportunity that will see you work from home 5 days per week
• Award rate salary (currently $52.79 per hour, increasing in July) plus full salary packaging benefits - use this link to see how much this benefit could mean to you!
• Internal employment and development opportunities
• Multiple additional leave options to use in a range of ways to ensure you're able to perform at your optimum
• Support for workplace wellness, including access to our free, confidential Employee Wellbeing Program
• Celebrate and feel supported in your diversity. We've established internal networks to support our diverse workforce, foster inclusion and allow you to bring your whole self to work (if that's what you want!) (Pride@Save, Parents and Carers@Save, Mental Wellness Alliance, Disability@Save, First Nations Advisory Committee).

Follow this link for the full list of our employee benefits.

Does this sound like the place for you?

We'd love to hear from you. Submit your cover letter and resume below.

Your cover letter should include answers to the following screening questions:

1. Do you hold professional registration with any of the following governing bodies? ACA, PACFA, AASW or AHPRA
2. How many days per week are you seeking ideally? (3 days per week minimum)
3. Do you live in an area with a reliable 4G network?

Position Description: Specialist Support Worker LVP.

For more information about this position, please contact our People and Culture team on [email protected], using the subject line: Specialist Support Workers - Leaving Violence Program - Flexible Location enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Or for more information about a career at Save, visit our Careers Page.

We have tested our application process with diverse groups in mind, with the intent to ensure its straightforward and accessible for all to apply. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our culture and improve our ability to reach our most vulnerable client groups. But we also know there is no one-size fits-all when it comes to recruitment - so if we didn't quite hit the mark for you, please let us know at [email protected]. We're dedicated to ensuring Save the Children Australia is a place where everyone can feel supported - no matter your race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexuality, neurodiversity, culture and beliefs.

Save the Children Australia is a child-safe organisation. All employees are required to undergo a National Police Check, a Working with Children Check, and sign our Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct. We also support the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

Save the Children is committed to providing and maintaining a safe working environment for its employees and client groups, consistent with our obligations under OH&S legislation.

If you are having any issues with uploading your application for this role, please contact [email protected] for further support.