About the WIFVC
The Western Integrated Family Violence Committee (WIFVC) is a representative, whole-of-sector reference group comprising key stakeholders committed to reducing family violence in Melbourne’s West.
The WIFVC is one of 13 regional committees across Victoria funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The role of the WIFVC is to provide regional leadership in service integration and planning, policy and advocacy to improve service responses to family violence in the west.
Funding is auspiced through a local organisation approved by DHHS. In the west, GenWest is contracted by DFFH to be the auspice organisation for funds and the employment of staff.
Our Members
Membership of the WIFVC is open to organisations working in the 7 western municipalities - Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Moonee Valley, Melton, Melbourne, Maribyrnong and Wyndham- who are committed to reducing violence to women and children. WIFVC is committed to a collaborative, inclusive approach to support the integration of service responses to family violence across the west, and brings together specialist family violence services with a large cross-section of services across the western region.
WIFVC Governance Structure
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The Western Integrated Family Violence Committee (WIFVC) is led by a part time, independent Chair. The Chair is a remunerated role, representing the WIFVC as a whole, not any one agency or member.
The key role of the Independent Chair is to provide leadership to assist WIFVC to achieve agreed strategic priorities. The Independent Chair is responsible for the support and supervision of the Principal Strategic Advisor.
The Chair also provides strategic planning to the Committee, leading them in identifying the most significant regional issues to be addressed in terms of integration, and developing, implementing and monitoring the progress of its strategic plan.
The Chair plans and chairs the bi-monthly Committee meetings, supported by the Principal Strategic Advisor (PSA), as well as the monthly Governance Group meetings.
Sandie de Wolf AM, joined the Western Integrated Family Violence Committee as the Independent Chair in July 2018. -
The WIFVC Governance Group 2024–2026 is made up of the following members:
Standing Positions:Independent Chair: Sandie de Wolf, AM
Auspice: Dale Wakefield, CEO, GenWest
DFFH: Carolyn Grant, Manager Agency Performance & System Support (APSS) Western Melbourne Area, Department of Families, Fairness & Housing
Victoria Police: Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Lawrence, Westgate Family Violence Investigation Unit, Victoria Police
Sexual Assault Services: Annette Vickery, CEO, WestCASA
The Orange Door Hub Managers: Mo Connolly, Hub Manager, The Orange Door, Western Melbourne and Tilly O’Rourke, Hub Manager, The Orange Door, Brimbank Melton
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation: Ani Connor-Simon, Executive Manager, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA)
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation: Kellyanne Andy, Director of Programs & Services, Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women's Services
Elected Positions:
Victim Survivor Position: Cleona Feuerring, Legal Director, Family Violence and Family Law Program, WestJustice Community Legal Centre
Perpetrator Position: Rose Byrnes, Senior Manager, Relationships Australia Victoria
Child & Family Services Position: Cathryn Ryan, General Manager, Integrated Place Based Services, VIC West & SA, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand
Diverse Communities’ Position: Rasha Abbas, CEO, InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence
Diverse Communities’ Position: Paula Fernandez Arias, General Manager, Queerspace, Drummond Street Services
Open Position: Marquita Nolan, Deputy Managing Lawyer, Victoria Legal Aid, West Regional Office
Open Position: Lisa O'Brien, Senior Manager, Melbourne City Mission
Open Position: Olivia Nichols, Operations Manager, Odyssey House Victoria
Open Position: Vivianne Watson, Regional Manager, North and West Region, Relationship Matters
The Governance Group drives the strategic planning of the Committee along with its members and partners, developing and strengthening the WIFVC processes and relationships with other planning networks in the West. The Governance Group also oversees the work of the Principal Strategic Advisor and the Project Support Worker.
The Governance Group is collectively responsible for advancing the best interests of the WIFVC and the people served by the family violence in the west, not as a representative body for decision –making on matters such as strategic priorities, which the members collectively determine. -
The Principal Strategic Advisor’s (PSA) role is to support, inform and influence strategic integration initiatives and activities that work to achieve priorities set out in the WIFVC Action Plan. The plan is itself informed and developed by the PSA, working closely within the governance arrangements described above, the wider membership of the WIFVC and state-wide stakeholders, including the other regional strategic advisors/integration coordinators. The PSA reports to the Independent Chair and is accountable to the Committee and Governance Group.
The PSA also provides support and supervision to the Project Support Worker and Workforce Development Officer. -
The WIFVC Workforce Development Officer plans, delivers and evaluates a range of initiatives to support workforce development, with a specific focus on MARAM alignment activities.
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The Project Support Worker provides administrative, operational and project support to the Principal Strategic Advisor, independent chair and WIFVC (including the governance group) in line with the priorities set out in the action plan and family violence reforms. This involves maintaining strong relationships with a variety of communities of interest in the integrated family violence service system, in particular to WIFVC members, the chair and the governance group.
