Our department

The Aboriginal Self-Determination and Outcomes (ASDO) division is a critical pillar of the department. It has leadership, oversight and coordination functions relating to self-determination, Truth, Treaty and Closing the Gap.

ASDO prioritises First Peoples’ expertise, knowledge and experience. The division works in accordance with policy and legislative settings. These include the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework, the National Closing the Gap Agreement, and the Treaty Negotiation Framework.

The division drives Aboriginal self-determination by ensuring First Peoples’ voice, ways of knowing, being and doing are embedded into the department’s decision-making processes.

The Children and Families division supports the Children portfolio with policy and strategic advice, program design and management, and reform delivery. This also includes funding:

• statutory child protection services
• family support and parenting services
• care services
• specialist support services, including for young people leaving care
• initiatives supporting Aboriginal children and families.

The division ensures the safety and wellbeing of children and young people at risk of harm, abuse and neglect. It seeks to improve outcomes for all Victorians, particularly families and children experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability.

The Community Operations and Practice Leadership division delivers vital child protection and public housing services directly to the Victorian community. The division operates in 4 geographical divisions across 17 areas. It stewards the broader government-funded community services sector by managing contracts and operational policy and funding frameworks.

The division responds to current and emerging place-based, population and community-wellbeing issues in:

• child and family services
• family violence and sexual assault services
• housing and homelessness
• disability
• emergency management
• community settings.

The division also responds to local and statewide emergencies and critical incidents.

The Corporate and Delivery Services division is an enabling division that supports the department to serve Victorians. It delivers centralised:

• finance and human resources services
• health, safety and wellbeing services
• management of industrial relations and legal services
• feedback, freedom of information, integrity, risk and audit functions
• ministerial, cabinet and parliamentary services
• information technology services
• procurement, contracting and business service functions.

This division houses the Child Protection Litigation Office, which represents the Secretary in child protection applications. It provides legal advice and support for the most complex and sensitive child protection matters. This includes matters where the protection of a child is directly relevant to a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal matter, the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court, and in criminal and intervention order proceedings.

The Disability, Fairness and Emergency Management division supports Victorians by standing up for inclusion, human rights, equity and preventing harm, vilification and discrimination. The division does this through developing, reforming and implementing inclusive policies, programs and services. These improve social, economic and wellbeing outcomes, and they drive improved community safety, connectedness and wellbeing.

This includes:

• providing specialist disability homes, with more choice and control for people with a disability
• embedding lived experience in policies and processes
• partnering with the community sector
• fostering self-advocacy and creating opportunities for people to have a say on initiatives that affect them.

The division focuses on people with disability, complex needs, seniors, carers, volunteers, veterans, youth, women and LGBTIQA+ Victorians, and people and communities experiencing vulnerability.

Together with internal and external partners, it supports all Victorians – including those most at risk – before, during and after major emergencies.

To deliver this work, the division takes a nuanced and intersectional approach. Its initiatives consider the multiple, compounding forms of disadvantage that people experience.

The division leads work in:

• Community Inclusion, Veterans and Youth
• Disability Homes Victoria
• Disability Reform and Complex Needs
• Emergency Management
• Equality, Seniors, Women and Equity Strategy.

Family Safety Victoria (FSV) has primary responsibility for the Prevention of Family Violence portfolio.

FSV leads policy, programs and initiatives to create a future where:

• all Victorians are safe, thriving and live free from violence
• children grow up in environments built on gender equality and respectful relationships
• families promote health, development and wellbeing.

The division is responsible for strategic policy, statewide reforms and system stewardship for family and sexual violence prevention and response.

This includes:

• primary prevention initiatives to change systems, structures, attitudes and behaviours that lead to violence
• improving outcomes for family violence and sexual assault victim survivors. This ensures victim survivors – including children and young people – get the help they need, when they need it
• keeping people who use family violence visible, accountable and motivated to change their behaviour
• undertaking whole-of-government family and sexual violence reform and measuring its impact
• building a more connected, inclusive and responsive family violence and sexual assault system across the state
• partnering with First Peoples to support a self-determined approach to preventing and responding to family and sexual violence
• ensuring the family violence and sexual assault system is inclusive, culturally safe and underpinned by the lived experience of victim survivors, including children and young people.

Homes Victoria is responsible for the Housing and Building portfolio. It works towards making sure all Victorians have access to safe, stable and affordable housing.

Homes Victoria leads social housing policy, and delivery of social housing and homelessness programs.

Homes Victoria operates across government on a wide range of related social issues. It works closely with renters, industry, the not-for-profit sector, local government and local communities. It aims to maximise the social and economic benefits of investing in social and affordable housing.

Homes Victoria’s key responsibilities are to:

• steward, partner and fund the social housing and homelessness systems
• manage and maintain the government’s social housing assets, which provide homes for more than 116,000 Victorians
• renew and expand those assets by making sure the Victorian Government’s capital programs are delivered on budget and on time.

Homes Victoria is a public statutory authority established as a body corporate under the Housing Act 1983. It is treated as a public non-financial corporation. Homes Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer and staff report to the Secretary of the department.

The System Reform, Workforce and Engagement division drives whole-of-system reform across the department’s areas of portfolio responsibility. It delivers strategic, regulatory and workforce development initiatives.

The division works closely with operational areas, other departments, and sector and industry partners. The division leads budget strategy, strategic planning and corporate reporting across the department. It also oversees the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee process, and provides internal and external communications, community engagement and digital and media services.

System Reform, Workforce and Engagement’s key responsibilities are:

• community sector workforce development
• strategic and regulatory reform
• performance, evidence and analytics
• evaluation
• public engagement.