Overview
The Framework for Trauma Informed Practice is being developed to promote the physical, emotional and cultural safety of people in contact with services for children, young people and families. The objective of the Framework is to reduce risk of re-traumatisation and support the wellbeing and healing of both service users and staff.
A trauma informed approach has long been considered good practice in addressing the high prevalence of trauma experienced by people in the service system. An unsafe response can escalate and compound trauma, resulting in additional harm. This can trigger distress, create barriers to recovery and prevent future engagement with support services.
A trauma-informed approach upholds the safety, dignity and wellbeing of both people using and people delivering services. It is supported through policies, principles and practices at practitioner, service and system levels that centre on empathy and reflection; that seek to understand, rather than pathologise; and that recognise people as experts in their own lives. Working with, rather than working for, is a key tenant of a trauma informed approach.

The development of the Framework for Trauma Informed Practice prioritises the voice of lived experience. It seeks to build enhanced and consistent ways of working with people experiencing trauma across child and family services, including family violence services.
Your role in shaping the framework
This consultation has now closed. Thank you for your contribution.
Please complete the survey below to help shape the development of the Framework for Trauma Informed Practice for child and family services, including family violence services.
The information presented in the survey reflects key themes from experience, the literature and evidence base on trauma informed practice.
We want to hear your perspectives, what more needs to be considered, and how the Framework can best be applied across different settings. We welcome diverse perspectives from service users, community members, services and other experts.
Important information
Please note, this survey is not the mechanism to seek assistance, report on issues of concern, or provide information on personal or consumer experiences. In case of emergency or immediate danger, please call ‘000.’
If you have formed a reasonable belief that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect please contact Child Protection via contact information at https://services.dhhs.vic.gov.au/child-protection-contacts.
For further information on seeking support from appropriate services see the contact information below.
Support Contacts
If anything on this web page raises any concerns or issues for you, or for someone you know, please contact a relevant support service We have provided contact information below for a number of Victorian support services.
Emergency Services: In the case of an emergency or immediate danger please call ‘000’
Child Protection: https://services.dhhs.vic.gov.au/child-protection-...
After Hours emergency: 13 12 78
Orange Door: https://orangedoor.vic.gov.au/
LifeLine: https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or 13 11 14
1800 Respect: https://www.1800respect.org.au/ or 1800 737 732
Kids Helpline: https://kidshelpline.com.au/ or 1800 55 1800
Parentline: https://www.parentline.com.au/ or 1300 30 1300
Mens Referral Service: https://www.ntv.org.au/ or 1300 766 491
Victims of Crime Helpline: https://www.victimsofcrime.vic.gov.au/
For information on trauma informed practice you may like to visit:
- Blue Knot Foundation - https://www.blueknot.org.au/
- Australian Institute of Family Studies - https://aifs.gov.au/
Please note: All survey responses will be de-identified, but please be advised that if you have a registered account with Engage Victoria and you are logged in while submitting a survey this may mean that your account details are captured in connection with your completion of the survey. This may result in your survey responses not being de-identified. To ensure your survey responses are de-identified, please ensure you are not logged in to Engage Victoria while submitting a survey.
Survey
Privacy collection notice
The Department of Health and Human Services (the department) is committed to protecting your privacy. The department will collect and analyse survey submissions for the purposes of informing the development of the Framework for Trauma Informed Practice.
The department asks that you do not provide any personal information, health information or information on personal experiences in your survey submission. All data collected through the survey will be destroyed immediately following the development of the Framework, in line with the Public Records Act 1973.
Participation in the survey is voluntary. All survey responses will be de-identified, but please be advised that if you have a registered account with Engage Victoria and you are logged in while submitting a survey this may mean that your account details are captured in connection with your completion of the survey. This may result in your survey responses not being de-identified. To ensure your survey responses are de-identified, please ensure you are not logged in to Engage Victoria while submitting a survey.
For further information on the Framework project, or to be advised on consultation outcomes, you can contact the consultation team separately by emailing trauamaframework@dhhs.vic.gov.au.
To contact the department’s Information Sharing and Privacy team please email privacy@dhhs.vic.gov.au.