Our Story

With just one desk, one phone and one staff member, the Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria (FVPLS Victoria) opens in the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne.

The regional need for FVPLS services is clear, and so begin the first visits beyond our inner-city home to assist women in Gippsland and Barwon south west.

The first Sisters Day Out held in Morwell is attended by 32 Aboriginal women. Two satellite offices are opened: one in Warrnambool to service Barwon south west clients, and the other in Lakes Entrance to service Gippsland.

Frontline legal services commence in metropolitan Melbourne. Two legal positions are funded by the Victorian Government. Collingwood becomes our new home base. Our Mildura office opens. The Commonwealth Attorney General agrees to a three-year funding cycle.

Funding is secured from the Victorian Government for a dedicated child protection lawyer, enabling Djirra to focus on keeping kids with mums as the highest priority.

We influence systemic change by documenting women’s experiences in our first policy paper, and by establishing our own policy unit.

WE RAISE THE ROOF AT our first National Conference Standing Firm for Change: A Journey to Justice. The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Violence against Women is present, and more than 300 paying participants attend in support of Aboriginal women.

We know how to mobilise and organise. Djirra is backed in our calls for increased longer-term funding from the Federal Government.

Government moves the goal posts, yet again. the Indigenous Advancement Strategy comes into play and more than 150 Indigenous programs are de-funded. The National FVPLS program was one of them.

Our younger Aboriginal women lead the way and our Young Luv program comes to life with young Aboriginal women educating and supporting each other.

We celebrate our 100th Sisters Day OUT Event where 400 Aboriginal women attend.

We are the specialists. our legal and non-legal supports expand, and our Early Intervention Programs – Sisters Day Out, Young Luv and Dilly Bag – are described in the report of the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence as programs that ‘need to be seen more of, not less’. The Victorian Government invests with an unprecedented flow of funding.

We are djirra. The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation approves the use of the word ‘Djirra’, and at our 15-year gala celebration our name is gifted to Aboriginal women.

Our Djirra Keepers are recognised, acknowledged and celebrated. Our calls to stay connected to our women behind bars are heard. The Victorian Government provides funding for us to extend our work with women inside and exiting prison.

Djirra meets the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. We innovate, adapt and expand our reach to stay connected to our women throughout Victoria.

We prioritise organisational redesign and sustainability to manage our rapid growth.
Record demand for services and representation is met by our legal team.
We establish the Individual Support Service, our specialist case management program.

Twenty years. The Women’s Spirit rocks painted by Wanda Bargo Braybrook are treasured keepsakes of over 14,000 women who have attended Sisters Day Out, Dilly Bag and Young Luv. In this auspicious year, we reflect, we honour, and we celebrate what we have become as Djirra, a force to be reckoned with. Forever.

We held our 100th Dilly Bag on Taungurung country at Strath Creek.
We launch Djirra in the West, our new holistic service delivery location in Melton.
We give evidence to Victoria’s truth telling body, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, on the Child Protection and Criminal Justice systems.

We deliver our 500th Koori Women’s Place workshop.
We give evidence to the National Senate Inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations women and children.
We make significant progress towards our long-standing strategic vision to establish Victoria’s first Aboriginal Women’s Centre.