Unit of competency

Modification History

Application

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to assist users of domestic and family violence to accept their responsibility to cease all forms of violence and abuse, accept the consequences of their behaviour and understand the impact of this behaviour on those experiencing their abuse and themselves. The established basis for the intervention is the safety of people experiencing domestic and family violence with the recognition that users of domestic and family violence are solely responsible for their behaviour and that they can choose to relate respectfully to partners and children.

This unit applies to workers who operate with significant autonomy in therapeutic professional service roles in the community sector. The activity is self-directed.

The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand Standards and industry codes of practice.

Elements and Performance Criteria

Foundation Skills

The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance.

Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Unit Mapping Information

No equivalent unit

Links

Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=5e0c25cc-3d9d-4b43-80d3-bd22cc4f1e53

Assessment requirements

Modification History

Performance Evidence

The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:

• worked intensively with at least 3 different users of domestic and family violence to assist them to individually acknowledge their responsibility for their violent and abusive behaviour, including:

• making a critical assessment of motivation for change
• working to develop awareness of choices in the user
• monitoring compliance and critically evaluating changes in the light of information from a variety of sources, including:

• the user
• user’s family members
• colleagues in the criminal justice system

• preparing reports that reflect the complexity of work with users of domestic and family violence

• used the following counselling skills and violence intervention models:

• challenging / confrontation
• negotiation

• undertaken a structured process of evaluation and reflection on interventions based on work with 3 users of domestic and family violence and integration of evidence based practice approaches.

Knowledge Evidence

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:

• legal and ethical considerations for the domestic and family violence work, and how these are applied in organisations and individual practice:

• codes of conduct
• discrimination
• duty of care
• human rights
• mandatory reporting
• practitioner / client boundaries
• privacy, confidentiality and disclosure, including limited confidentiality rationale and processes
• policy frameworks
• records management
• rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
• specific legislative frameworks that apply to domestic and family violence, including the following types of legal orders:

• apprehended violence orders (AVO)
• domestic violence orders (DVO)
• violence restraint orders (VRO)
• probation and parole orders
• interstate orders (ISO)
• child protection orders
• family court orders

• criminal justice system in terms of its relationship/interactions with users of domestic and family violence
• work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations
• work health and safety

• current and emerging domestic and family violence theory and practice
• social justice theory relating to domestic violence
• theories of human and social development and relationship to domestic and family violence
• theories around masculinities and dominant cultures and role in domestic and family violence
• issues that may be present or are explored in working with users of domestic and family violence, including:

• user blaming, minimisation and denial of their actions
• user attributions of responsibility for their behaviour
• user ideas in relation to provocation
• location of the user's violence as a choice, not psychological limitations, illness, stress, a life crisis or substance abuse
• user minimisation and inconsistencies with other accounts about their use of violence and abuse
• user minimisation of the history, existence, seriousness and frequency of violent actions
• user minimisation of the impact of their violence/abusive behaviour

• internal and external motivators for change, and how to work with these, including

• internal:

• feelings of shame, guilt, remorse, regret, frustration, sadness,
• manipulative and coercive behaviour for resumption of relationship with partner, and/or children
• preference for non-violent and respectful relating with others
• desire to break historical patterns in family of origin
• desire for personal change and development

• external:

• pressures/coercion from statutory authorities (e.g. prison)
• loss of relationship
• community/family/cultural/religious pressures/status (e.g. employment, social standing)

• how to establish a contract for change
• integrated violence intervention models
• supervision and debriefing models in community services
• collaborative practice in domestic and family violence, including benefits, different models and opportunities
• self knowledge, including own biases and the potential impact on work practices.

Assessment Conditions

Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment that reflects workplace conditions. The following conditions must be met for this unit:

• use of suitable facilities, equipment and resources, including:

• client information
• court orders
• organisation policies and procedures

• modelling of industry operating conditions, including:

• scenarios that involve complex interactions and problem-solving with other people.

Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.

Links

Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=5e0c25cc-3d9d-4b43-80d3-bd22cc4f1e53