This comprehensive judicial education program provides Australian judicial officers with essential knowledge, skills, and frameworks for effectively handling intimate partner violence (IPV) matters. This will include exploring intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities and trauma and violence in the 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

Judicial officers must be engaged in an ongoing way with the lived experience of victims and perpetrators, through realistic and uncomfortable presentations, supported through scaffolded and immersive scenarios, that shine a light on exercising judgment and informed decision making. In addition, the well-being of judicial officers is not a private matter but a foundational requirement for judicial independence, integrity and quality decision making.  This proposal recognises the increasing pressures on Australian judicial officers — heavy caseloads, traumatic material, under-resourcing, political and media pressure, and exposure to abuse and leverages targeted judicial education to safeguard judicial mental health, security, and workplace culture. Judicial officers sit at the apex of the court; supporting judicial officers to deal with violence and trauma in the courtroom means strengthening justice and justice outcomes for all.

The program will focus on violence between current or former intimate partners, recognising this as a distinct form of interpersonal violence with unique dynamics, risk factors, and judicial considerations. The program addresses the specialised skills required to draft trauma-informed judgments that clearly articulate the facts while safeguarding the wellbeing of those affected.

The program addresses the two interconnected dimensions critical to effective judicial management of family violence cases in the Australian context: state and federal law, recognising the complexities of navigating both family and criminal law. It emphasises evidence-based practices, trauma-informed approaches, and cultural competency particularly regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Importantly, the program also recognises the impact on judicial officers involved in managing large amounts of family and intimate partner violence cases and applies wellbeing principles with practical strategies for selfcare and wellbeing.

Upon completion of this program, judicial officers will be able to:

• Apply trauma-informed principles to judgment writing that acknowledge the impacts of domestic abuse while maintaining judicial impartiality and rigour in fact-finding.
• Identify and navigate the jurisdictional interface between federal family law and state/territory systems, including how domestic violence orders, criminal proceedings, and child protection matters interact with Family Law Act proceedings.
• Evaluate evidence appropriately, including understanding why victims may recant, minimise, or exhibit seemingly inconsistent behaviour.
• Address cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers that may affect access to justice for diverse populations.
• Gain a deeper understanding of how operating in a trauma informed environment can facilitate better participation by trauma-affected witnesses.
• Address the specific experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women from CALD backgrounds in IPV relationship.
• Understand the specific issues that members of the LGBTQI+ community experience when they are victims of intimate partner violence
• Understand the impact of witnessing domestic and intimate partner violence on children

Judicial education is essential for the objective, impartial and competent performance of judicial officers across Australia.  To meet that need, judicial education must continuously adapt to adequately support judicial officers so that they maintain public trust. 

Judging requires humanity and humility as every decision is about people. This is of paramount importance in the area of family and domestic violence as judicial officers must grapple with the deeper truths of patterns of violence, the intricacies of intimate partner relationships and family dynamics.

Flights and accommodation are not included. This is a Commonwealth, State and Territory Grant Program and requires no registration fee.