Tenders open for support service

A NEW domestic and family violence support service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will “address a gap” in the region.

The State Government is looking for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation to run the new Townsville service.

“The department is seeking to address a gap in local domestic and family violence support by investing in a new domestic and family violence support service to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, women and children,” a department spokesman said.

The spokesman said the service would work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to find support that worked for them, with the aim of keeping people safe and reducing violent behaviour.

Tenders to provide the service are open.

The spokesman said the department was allocating more than $ 2.1 million to deliver the service for five years from April next year.

The Not Now, Not Ever: Putting an End to Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland report recommended services that engaged with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and perpetrators of domestic and family violence needed to offer culturally sensitive programs by indigenous providers.

The spokesman said the service should work with the specialist domestic and family violence court in Townsville, which started in January this year.

“The service will work with people subject to intervention orders to help them change their abusive behaviour,” he said.

“The service will provide support to people who may have never come in contact with the court process before, and help them to navigate the process.”