What is the Safe Families Program?
The Safe Families Program is a specialist domestic and family violence (DFV) response delivered by Act for Kids in the Moreton Bay region.
Safe Families was developed to address a critical service gap: families experiencing DFV where the person using violence remains connected to the family unit. We provide a coordinated, whole-of-family response that prioritises safety, accountability and healing, without excluding families based on their circumstances.
Our model is tiered and responsive.
For many families, evidence-informed group programs provide a strong and accessible entry point — creating safe spaces to learn, reflect and connect with others who understand their experience. Through skill-building and guided discussion, families begin to strengthen safety, rebuild confidence and develop the foundations for healthier relationships moving forward.
For families experiencing more complex or entrenched violence, we offer targeted therapeutic family work within a specialist framework. This includes coordinated, whole-of-family intervention led by a Key Worker, with tailored therapeutic support for children, caregivers and — where safe and appropriate — people using violence. Our focus remains on safety, accountability and sustainable change over time.
What we do:
- Specialist DFV risk assessment and ongoing safety planning
- Immediate emotional and practical support during periods of instability
- Information, referrals, and advocacy to support access to housing, financial assistance, healthcare, and legal services.
- Advocacy and coordinated system navigation (courts, housing, child protection and other services)
- Evidence-informed therapeutic interventions
- Group programs to connect with others who understand their experience
- An accountability-oriented approach when working with people using violence
Our approach recognises that meaningful change happens through safe, consistent and relationship-based practice. Healing is developmental, not time-limited.
We provide support through 2 key models:
1. Targeted Whole-of-Family Therapeutic Support
For families requiring an intensive response, Safe Families provides specialist, coordinated intervention.
A dedicated Key Worker supports the victim-survivor and leads a single therapeutic case plan for the family. Targeted therapeutic work is delivered to children, caregivers and, where safe and appropriate, people using violence.
This may include:
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- Risk assessment and safety planning
- Trauma-informed therapeutic intervention
- Support for children and young people impacted by DFV
- Behaviour change interventions for adolescents and adults using violence (where readiness and safety thresholds are met)
- Practical support and system navigation
Our approach prioritises victim-survivor safety, children’s voices and perpetrator accountability. We uses a family system’s perspective to deliver coordinated, risk-assessed and clinically governed responses to support sustainable change
2. Group Programs – Prevention, Early Intervention & Change
Group programs are a core pillar of Safe Families. They reduce isolation, build skills, and create safe spaces for reflection and behaviour change.
Programs support:
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- Women impacted by violence to strengthen safety, rights awareness and healing
- Children and young people affected by DFV to build regulation, confidence and belonging
- Fathers and men using violence to increase accountability and strengthen parenting relationships
Groups often act as a gateway to more intensive support, helping identify which families would benefit from additional therapeutic intervention.
Programs may include:
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- Caring Dads
- Love Bites
- Shark Cage
- Rhythm 2 Recovery
Why Safe Families Works
The Safe Families model is grounded in evidence and strengthened through independent evaluation. The pilot phase demonstrated:
- Reductions in violent behaviours and crisis incidents
- Improved emotional wellbeing and life skills for children and young people
- Increased safety, confidence and autonomy for women
- Strong engagement and measurable impact through group programs
- Clearer matching of intervention intensity to family need
By combining group-based delivery with targeted therapeutic support, Safe Families increases reach while reserving intensive intervention for families with the highest levels of complexity and risk.
This approach enables us to provide greater safety for children and caregivers, stronger accountability for people using violence and coordinated, whole-of-family care that produces sustainable outcomes.
Support Packages and Funding Options
Safe Families operates through a blended funding model to ensure equity of access and long-term sustainability.
We offer tailored fee-for-service packages for government agencies and partner services, including Child Safety and Youth Justice. Packages can be designed according to: intervention intensity, duration of support and reporting and outcome requirements.
Families are never charged for services.
Contact Us
Please reach out directly to our Safe Families team at:
Changing the lives of kids in Australia
Five-year-old Maddie was physically, emotionally and verbally abused by her parents from birth, witnessing severe domestic violence and substance abuse, including Ice.
For the first six years of his little life, eight-year-old Aiden was beaten, burned, threatened, and degraded.