We recommend that before accessing DVFREE training, you consult with our experts (see ‘Consultation’ below) to lay a solid foundation for your workplace or customer response programme in your policy, procedures, and information for staff or customers. 

DVFREE trainers are based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Outside of these locations, reimbursement for travel expenses is in addition to the training fee. 

 

Consider becoming a DVFREE Tick partner

As a DVFREE Tick partner, your organisation can demonstrate a best practice workplace approach. Our DVFREE Tick partners play a vital role in helping us to continually improve our understanding and approach to improving the workplace response to domestic violence. The essential recommendations in the Guidelines for a DVFREE Workplace Programme are the basis of our DVFREE Tick criteria.

DVFREE consultation and training services can be accessed as part of the DVFREE Tick or separately. Find out more about the DVFREE Tick – process and criteria.

Contact us now for more information, or to book services.

Get started with free DVFREE resources

We recommend:

Guidelines for a DVFREE Workplace Programme

Start by going through our free Guidelines for a DVFREE Workplace Programme, which may help you identify gaps in your programme and understand how to fill those gaps. The Guidelines’ recommendations will help you meet, and go beyond, employers’ legal obligations under the Domestic Violence Victims’ Protection Act and other relevant laws.

Online Workplace Learning Module

Use our free online workplace learning module to raise awareness amongst your staff by providing the link on your intranet, and including it in your induction for new staff. It usually takes no more than an hour. This module was created by Shine in partnership with Westpac, and updated in 2023.

Promote our free national Helpline

Promote our free national Helpline to your staff – as a source of support and information for people who experience domestic violence, as well as their support people. Order free Helpline posters, cards, and pamphlets here, as well as Safer Homes booklets for a small fee to cover printing. Read the Guidelines for information about some additional national specialist domestic violence related Helplines.

DVFREE Workplace Training

Workplace ‘First Responder’ Training: In-house

First Responders are the people in your workplace who can support employees experiencing domestic violence, and they can also support managers. This is a 6.5 hour long training, with required pre-learning, that helps First Responders to:

  • understand domestic violence as entrapment
  • recognise signs and respond safely and appropriately
  • provide workplace support, safety planning, and refer to specialist community support and
  • understand broadly how an employer can respond to employees who perpetrate domestic violence, and provide support to change

We recommend having this training delivered in person at your venue as it is more effective and engaging, but we can deliver it online if it is prohibitive to bring your First Responders together for training. Contact us now for fees and information or to book your training.

Workplace ‘First Responder’ Training: Open to Individuals

This is the same as our in-house First Responder training, which we regularly deliver in main city centres and online so that individuals can register to attend. If your organisation plans to train more than a few people, we strongly recommend in-house training so that the training can focus on the context of your particular organisation, and can help build a stronger team of First Responders who can provide good support for each other in a role that can be very emotionally challenging. Find out more or register now for one of these training sessions.

Workplace Manager Training

Managers play a key role in supporting a team member who experiences domestic violence and are most likely to see the signs and be able to ask some initial questions. DVFREE Tick partners may access the DVFREE Manager Online Learning Programme, as part of their Tick and Tick renewal fee, to provide training and/or refresher training for managers.

However, our best practice recommendation is to provide live training at least for initial manager training. Live training is 3 hours long (scheduled for 3.5 hours if delivered online),

DVFREE Training – both via the online learning programme or live training – helps Managers to:

  • understand domestic violence as entrapment
  • recognise signs and respond safely and with empathy
  • provide workplace support, workplace safety & wellbeing planning, and support to connect with specialist community support, and
  • understand broadly how an employer can provide accountability and support for employees who use harmful behaviour within a family/domestic relationship

While this training is most effective as an in-person learning experience, delivering it live via an online platform such as Zoom is a good next-best option.

However, because we understand how difficult it may be to bring managers together for a block of time, we make our manager online learning programme available to DVFREE Tick partners. While we acknowledge that training delivered this way is less effective, we know the other aspects of a Tick partner’s workplace programme help to ensure a safe and holistic approach. The online learning programme also references some features that are required for DVFREE Tick accredited organisations. 

Contact us for a more in-depth overview of DVFREE Manager training.

We generally only deliver Manager training for an organisation that has already trained First Responders. Read our Guidelines to understand why this is important.

DVFREE Customer Response Training

Customer Response Champions 1-Day Training

This training is aimed at people who either:

  • Deal with customers impacted by domestic violence in their day to day work, e.g. a providing a service for customers experiencing vulnerability, or
  • Support and advise frontline staff on how to respond to customers experiencing domestic violence, such as a group of team leaders or internal ‘champions’.

This training is highly interactive, for a maximum of 20 people. We can deliver this as an online training in some circumstances, including when there are COVID restrictions in place. Talk to us about your situation and we will try to find a training solution to meet your needs.

Larger customer-facing organisations may find it helpful to provide this training for a relatively small group of champions from throughout the business, in parallel with providing less intensive training for all frontline staff alongside guidance in procedures.

Other Customer Response Training Customised for You

You can obtain bespoke training to meet your organisation’s specific needs in caring for your at-risk customers.  This training is tailored to fit within your time constraints. The fee for this depends on the level of tailoring required to meet your requirements.

DVFREE Consultation – workplace & customer response

Our domestic violence experts are experienced at providing consultation and policy advice for a wide range of government/crown, business, and not-for-profit organisations.

Even if you use our Guidelines to inform your domestic violence policy and procedures, you may want one of our experts to review your domestic violence policy and/or other specific materials such as the domestic violence content of your intranet or staff wellbeing guide.

We can also provide advice and guidance on policy, procedures, and other information relating to your response to customers who experience domestic violence.

You can purchase the first two hours of DVFREE consultation at a significant discount here.

Contact us now to discuss your consultation needs.

DVFREE Awareness Raising

Free workplace online learning module

This module was created in collaboration by Westpac and Shine and updated in 2023. It usually takes less than 1 hour to complete and provides a good introduction to understanding domestic/family violence within a workplace context.

Awareness sessions
A Shine expert from our Training Team can speak to any size group of staff for anywhere between 30 min to 2 hours, to raise awareness about domestic violence. These sessions can help build a foundation for a domestic violence staff programme and further DVFREE training and/or can be incorporated into your existing programme as a way to raise awareness for your staff.
Be creative!

There are many ways to engage, inspire and educate staff about domestic violence.

“'It stands out to me that nearly half of people experiencing violence at home are likely to talk to a work colleague. That makes it all the more important that our employees know we are an organisation that is approachable and will be understanding through tough times.  Our DVFREE Tick is an ongoing commitment to our people that we will show care in their time of need.”

— Catherine McGrath - Westpac NZ CEO

“The DVFREE customer response training reinforces being the bridge to help our customers, opens our eyes to signs and provides real life examples that we can apply to our job - it was very practical, with great facilitation.”

— IAG Care Team member training evaluation

“With specialist support from Shine, we are able to provide our people with a work environment where those affected by domestic violence are able to and feel supported to speak up, are treated with dignity and empathy, and where safety and privacy is protected."

— Catherine Dixon - Suncorp New Zealand Executive General Manager People and Culture

"It is our duty as a responsible employer to ensure our people feel safe and supported at work. Shine’s DVFREE programme has given us the knowledge and tools to be confident in how we respond to any of our people who experience domestic violence.”

— David Stevenson, General Manager, Parliamentary Service

“The model we have developed with Shine has given our managers tools to deal with some of the issues faced by our people. The systems we have put in place are already working." The Ministry of Justice was the first state sector agency awarded the DVFREE Tick. CE Andrew Bridgman urged other public sector organisations to follow its lead.

— Andrew Bridgman, Chief Executive, Ministry of Justice