Fast Track Response Program Wrap-up

Fast Track is an intensive leadership program that helps professionals in the prevention and response sectors advance their careers by building skills in leadership, advocacy, partnerships and program design. 

A cohort of 21 professionals completed the course in round 3, with representatives from Berry Street, Centre Against Violence, Drummond Street Services, Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Services (EMH), Family Life, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, Safe Steps, WAYSS Ltd, and WRISC Family Violence Support.  

The end-of-program forum was a great success, attended by Fast Track participants, mentors, and staff from Family Safety Victoria and Safe and Equal. The forum opened with a discussion between Tania Farha and participants around leadership, what participants valued from the program, and future hopes for leadership within the sector. Each participant then presented the workplace project logic they had designed during the program. The learning outcomes covered in each weekly module alongside the mentorship program supported participants to identify and design their projects, the presentation of which showcased the hard work invested and the strengthened capacity of participants. 

Workplace projects presented included: 

• A project to connect each Aboriginal Team within the Orange Doors, to improve referral pathways and strengthen connections between teams across Victoria 
• An audit to understand the type of barriers services face to effective and timely collaboration, followed by the implementation of targeted interventions to address these barriers (such as networking events and cross-sector meetings), and the development of processes for a formal feedback loop to monitor and review these barriers and interventions  
• A project to encourage greater contribution from all team members in meetings, not just from management. This project aimed to address the need for a healthy, positive team culture where staff feel safe and supported to speak up and share ideas.  

Forum attendees were very impressed with all workplace project presentations, with Family Safety Victoria and the Safe and Equal Practice Development Advisor expressing interest in staying updated on the programs’ status and outcomes. 

– Fast Track response program participant

This was the final funded response round for 2022, and upcoming courses are yet to be confirmed. You can add yourself to the waitlist for future Fast Track programs or for other potential leadership development opportunities here.