Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697633675374.pdf (Australia)
Abuse on Contact (AOC): Keeping Children Safe on Contact Free Training Opportunity offered by: Women’s Legal Service, Carinity Communities - Talera, and Ipswich Women’s Centre Against DV (IWCADV) Practitioners in the community sector and other agencies who work with families post- separation are often required to respond to Abuse on Contact (AOC).
AOC is harm that occurs when victims (both adults and children) of family or domestic violence (FDV), are exposed to ongoing violence post- separation as a result of the legal requirement to comply with family law orders, parenting plans or other agreements that allow or promote time between the children and the perpetrator of the violence.

Recent deaths in Australia of children whilst having contact with their non-protective parent have highlighted the importance of being able to respond to this issue.
The aim of the training is to both provide resources and support to practitioners to help them to better recognise AOC, and to provide some practical tools they can implement in their day to day practice, to increase the safety of women and children.

Target audience: social workers, counsellors, family dispute resolution practitioners, children’s counsellors, refuge and DV workers, CYMHS, child protection and family court personnel.

You will learn about: • What’s the evidence of AOC?
• An overview of the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures Act) 2011 • Assessment of FDV risk for women and children - including risk indicators • Identifying and Responding to FDV/ AOC • Supporting children and safe care givers where • Using the law - Identifying relevant/ possible there is AOC points of entry for practitioners • Assessing protective factors and risk factors for children in AOC in receiving counselling.
Date: Tuesday 26th August 2014 Time 9.30am - 4pm (9.00am arrival) Venue: Allens Lawyers Level 31 Riverside Centre 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 RSVP: RSVP by Friday, 22nd August, 2014 admin@wlsq.org.au | 07 3302 0644 Please advise of any special dietary requirements, numbers to the workshop are limited.
Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 108 - Attachment 1 About the facilitators: Anna Jones Anna Jones is currently the Program Manager at Carinity Communities -Talera, and has worked as a therapist at Talera for over 6 years.

Talera specialises in childhood trauma specifically relating to child witnesses of DV, child abuse and neglect.

Talera runs two programs.


A child witness of domestic violence program which offers a specialist counselling program for children and the families of children who have witnessed domestic violence.

Talera also offers a specialist program for foster children and the care givers of foster children who are in out of home foster care and kinship care.

Anna has previously has also worked with families who are experiencing homelessness, both in crises and early intervention services.
She has a Bachelor of Social Science (counselling, behavioural science), Graduate Diploma of Psychology, Honours in Psychology and a Masters of Counselling.

Angela Lynch Angela Lynch is a lawyer with Women’s Legal Service (WLS) in Brisbane, working in communication and projects and is currently on the coordinating committee of Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA) and has served as national law reform coordinator for the WLSA network.
WLS is a specialist community legal centre located in Brisbane providing free legal and social work services to Queensland women in the areas of DV and family law.

Angela has previously been the principal lawyer at WLS and was one of the authors, along with Kathryn Rendell and Zoe Rathus of the report published in 2000 “An Unacceptable Risk: A report on child contact arrangements where there is violence in the family” that named AOC as an issue.
Rebecca Shearman Rebecca Shearman is a qualified Social Worker and the Program Coordinator of the Ipswich Women’s Centre Against DV (IWCADV), and has been working in the FDV field for over 10 years.

IWCADV provides a range of programs for women, young people and children experiencing FDV including crisis intervention, court support, counselling and community development, education & training initiatives.
Rebecca started out in her professional work as a children’s & young people’s counsellor at the IWCADV, and has also worked at Mercy Family Services Goodna as the child sexual abuse counsellor for children on orders.

Rebecca also currently co-convenes the DV Court Assistance Network, and has previously completed a 2 year term on the DFV Strategy Implementation Advisory Group.

All 3 services have been working collaboratively on AOC over a number of years.
This training is proudly supported by a grant from the Ian Potter Foundation.

Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 108 - Attachment 1