Fast Track intensive leadership program
Fast Track will help you advance your career by building your leadership and management skills.
This free professional development program is designed for people who want to excel in a leadership role responding to family violence or preventing violence against women.
You will build your knowledge and skills in feminist leadership, advocacy, policy, staff and organisational development, creating effective partnerships, program design, and working in a range of settings.
Designed by experienced practitioners, Fast Track incorporates the values of intersectional feminism that are the foundation of family violence and primary prevention work.
Enhanced learning experience
Fast Track is delivered using a range of methods that are designed to work together to reinforce the learning experience.

Workshops
Develop your technical skills through group discussion and problem solving led by an expert facilitator.

Guest presenters
Hear from sector experts who will share their knowledge and insights on a range of topics in the workshops.

Workplace project
Choose a project to work on during the program that will have a real impact in your workplace, while building your skills.

Expert project mentor
Access support and advice around your workplace project or your career development in three one-hour mentoring sessions.

Forum
Put the skills you’ve gained into practice and celebrate, reflect and share what you’ve learned at the end of the program.

Networking
Meet and connect with other emerging leaders in your sector throughout the program.

"The course is useful to shift thinking space from direct practice to broader sector climate and development. Also very helpful for networking and exposure to leaders in the field to get a better understanding of where the sector is coming from and where it is headed."
Pilot program participant
Facilitator

Sarah Johnson
Sarah Johnson is a collaborative and engaging leader and facilitator with extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, communications and multi-sector collaboration.
In her current role, Sarah engages a broad range of stakeholders to work together to find solutions for complex system issues. As the Principal Strategic Advisor for the Family Violence Regional Integration Committee in the northern metropolitan region, Sarah provides strategic leadership and advice, supports workforce development and capacity building.
As Fast Track facilitator, Sarah brings considerable sector knowledge and facilitation expertise.
Two streams to choose from
Response
- Who should apply
- Professionals with experience in the specialist family violence sector, who are looking to move into a leadership role.
- Managers and senior workers in specialist family violence services (Tier 1) who are new to their roles and/or want to build their leadership and management capability.
- Please note this program is for participants in Victoria, Australia only.
- Program outline
- Family violence leadership
- Applying theory and practice frameworks
- Managing employees and their mental health and wellbeing
- Developing high quality systems to support evidence-based practice
- Leading quality services, advocacy and reform, and engagement with diverse communities
- Managing risk and prioritising safety
- Supporting victim survivors in a parenting role
- Promoting perpetrator accountability and change
Commitment
Duration
Prevention
- Who should apply
- Professionals with experience in the primary prevention sector, who are looking to move into a leadership role.
- Professionals with significant experience in aligned roles, who are interested in moving into primary prevention.
- Please note this program is for participants in Victoria, Australia only.
- Program outline
- Foundational knowledge and skills
- Using research, theory and evidence to support practice
- Program logic frameworks
- Project planning
- Establishing and maintaining partnerships
- Intersectionality
- Working across different settings
- Communicating effectively
- Working with men
- Advocating for change
Commitment
Duration

“Family violence work is unique and complex, and expanding as Victoria’s coordinated prevention and response systems grow. We need more people with family violence expertise to build their leadership skills and take up the challenge of leading this important work into the future.”
Tania Farha, CEO DVRCV and Domestic Violence Victoria
How to apply
Please note applications have closed for the Response stream. Register for the waitlist and we'll notify you when the next program is scheduled.
Prevention stream
How to apply
- Enter your contact details. If you’ve registered with us before with that email address, you’ll receive an email with ‘Incomplete Online Booking’. Click the second link in the email to enter the rest of your details.
- You’ll receive an email from Canvas with a link to create a Canvas account.
- Once you’ve logged in to Canvas, you will need to continue your application which includes information about your current role and what you hope to achieve.
- You’ll then need to upload your resume and a letter of support from your manager or employer.
- We'll review your application and notify you of the outcome.
Please note this program is for participants in Victoria, Australia only. Please do not submit an application if you reside outside of Victoria, Australia.
To ensure the best possible outcome for all participants, we will be selecting applicants based on their suitability for the course, as well as ensuring the group is diverse and can work cohesively.
You may or may not be contacted for interview - don’t worry if you haven’t, this doesn’t mean you haven’t been successful. You will be contacted about your application no matter the outcome.
Accessibility
If you’d like to discuss your accessibility requirements or need any further information about the accessibility standards of our online Learning Management System, email [email protected].
Enquiries
If you’d like more information about the Fast Track program, email [email protected].
This program is free for all participants thanks to generous funding from Family Safety Victoria. More programs are planned over the next two years.