ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET
Family Name: Given Name(s):
Student ID: Course:
BACHELOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES
Unit Code: Unit Name:
CAS101 Community Development
Tutor: Assessment Number/Title:
Semester/Trimester and Year: Word Count:
Action Plan Proposal
Project title EmpowerHER: Domestic Violence Prevention and Support for
Migrant Women in Sydney
Target Group Domestic violence is a serious problem in NSW. The data shows that
1 in 10 victims of domestic assault are young people, and 3 in 5
victims are women. Figure 1 shows that the issue of domestic
violence becomes more serious over time.
Figure 1: Domestic Violence assault victims of family violence
(BOCSAR, 2024)
The migrant women confront legal and social insecurity because
they fear deportation or losing their visa status if they disclose
violence. Besides, due to their migration status, they are excluded
from public benefits, such as housing and Centrelink. Further, many
women face social isolation, especially if their families are not
present in Australia (Vasil, 2023). This may stem from the fact that
they lack an understanding of Australian systems, and cultural
stigma can prevent them from seeking help. The NSW government
plans to create a new support hub for migrant and refugee females
who suffer from domestic violence, with a capital of $4.4 million
(SBS News, 2024).
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Figure 2: The domestic violence-related assault.
The consequences of domestic violence are serious, for example, the
increase in domestic violence-related assaults (Figure 2). The victims
of domestic violence suffer from mental health issues like
psychological distress or loneliness (Spangaro et al., 2025).
Funding available $10,000 per year for 2 years = total project funding $20,000
Rationale and Background
Rationale:
The project can support migrant women in Sydney who are affected
Overall purpose / by domestic violence. As mentioned before, the reasons for domestic
Rationale and relevance violence among migrant women are the language and cultural
barriers, social isolation, and a lack of legal knowledge. Therefore,
Aim of the project the project contributes to addressing the shortage of their legal
knowledge and offers a place for them to establish social connections
in New South Wales. Communication among females can help them
develop more soft skills to protect themselves here. Further, they can
know more about the resources they can look for in urgent cases.
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AIM:
The project aims to reduce the consequences of domestic violence
among migrant women in Sydney. The strategies are to offer
preventive interventions and connect them with the organisations in
the emergency.
By the end of the project, the participants will be able:
Outcomes / Impact To understand their rights in Australia
To access support services and legal resources
To express their needs and seek help without fear
To build social relationships
To develop coping strategies to address emotional distress.
To participate in community events that promote well-being.
To evaluate their personal safety and implement steps to
reduce risk in their relationships.
Approach
Implementation The project will adopt an empowerment and community support
approach to address domestic violence among migrant women in
Activities and Sydney. The project focuses on providing practical support and
Strategies promoting a strong sense of community and belonging. Women are
given essential skills and resources to integrate into society and have
sufficient legal knowledge to protect themselves.
The project will organise the following activities:
- The project will run monthly workshops and training sessions
on recognising the signs of domestic violence and
understanding legal rights. Volunteers or pro bono
professionals will lead these to ensure that migrant women
can receive expert guidance. The venues for these activities
can be community venues such as libraries or community
centres to reduce venue costs. The project develops digital
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resources to share information through digital channels. They
should be prepared in different languages.
- Peer-led support groups will be formed so that migrant
women can connect and share experiences. These groups will
promote a sense of belonging and combat social isolation.
These groups are facilitated by trained community members
(volunteers). These volunteers will be provided with basic
training to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the
support groups. These groups can be created on different
social platforms so that the members can interact with each
other easily.
- The project will collaborate with local legal aid organisations
and domestic violence shelters to offer temporary
accommodation. Information about these services will be
distributed during workshops, and partnerships will ensure
women have easy access to professional help. This means
that the project concentrates on streamlining referrals to
established organisations.
Project timeline Phase 1: Getting Started (Months 1-3)
Key Activities:
- Promote the project and establish partnerships.
- Identify and train peer leaders from within the migrant
communities.
- Start creating digital materials and translating them into
multiple languages to ensure accessibility.
- Launch Awareness Campaign:
- The 1st Workshop (Introductory): “Understanding Domestic
Violence and Your Rights” – Held monthly for the first three
months (one workshop every month). Duration: 2 hours.
Phase 2: Development and Implementation (Months 4-12)
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Key Activities:
- Monthly Workshops and Peer Support Groups
- Continue creating educational resources based on feedback
from participants.
- Collaborate with key partners
Phase 3: Consolidation and Expansion (Months 13-18)
Key Activities:
- Conduct the evaluations and make some modifications
- Increase outreach efforts to reach a larger number of migrant
women.
- Leverage local radio and newspapers to increase visibility
and awareness of the project.
- Continue hosting one workshop per month.
- Peer Support Group
Phase 4: Evaluation and Sustainability (Months 19-24)
Key Activities:
- Conduct a thorough evaluation of the project, reviewing
participation, impact, and feedback from migrant women.
- Develop a plan for sustaining the project beyond the initial
funding period
- Create a plan to continue the peer support groups and
workshops
- Host monthly workshops through the final phase
- Peer Support Group
Key partners:
Stakeholders NSW Multicultural Centre for Women’s and Family Safety:
They will provide expertise in designing culturally responsive
workshops and materials for migrant women.
They can contribute facilitators for workshops, provide resource
materials (SSI Group, 2024)
Immigrant Women’s Support Service (IWSS):
WSS can help design a referral system for women accessing the
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program. They can also share their counselling resources and
materials.
IWSS can deliver direct services to women, including crisis support,
advocacy, and legal assistance. They will also be involved in training
project staff on culturally appropriate ways (The Immigrant
Women’s Support Service, 2025).
SpeakOut Association
SpeakOut can help develop a community education program on
recognising domestic violence, tailored specifically to migrant
communities.
They will provide advocacy and case management services to the
women in the program (SpeakOut, 2025)
Other Key Stakeholders:
Migrant Women’s Families and Communities are impacted by
domestic violence.
Employers and Workplace Support Services can ee decreased
productivity and higher absenteeism from employees who are
experiencing domestic violence.
Children of migrant women and young women in the community
may suffer from the effects of domestic violence.
Local governments have a responsibility to ensure the safety and
well-being of all residents, including migrant women. Therefore, it
can increase social costs.
Religious and Community Leaders can distribute information about
domestic violence, encouraging victims to seek help
Budget The total income for this project is $20,000. The details can be seen
in the Annexe A: Project Budget
Project management
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Diem Tran - Project Manager
Responsibilities:
- Oversee the overall implementation of the project.
Project management - Ensure the project stays on schedule and within budget.
and implementation - Monitor and evaluate project activities, tracking milestones
and outputs.
Linh Pham - Workshop and Training Coordinator
Responsibilities:
- Organise and schedule monthly workshops
- Coordinate the peer leader training sessions and provide
ongoing support to peer leaders.
- Assist in creating digital resources
Mai Nguyen - Project supervisor
Responsibilities:
- Maintain relationships with key community partners.
- Promote the project
- Monitor the project
- Data analysis
Monitoring and Outcome Method Who will Stage of project
Evaluation conduct it
To understand Pre- and post- Project After each
their rights in workshop Manager workshop
Australia surveys, and (monthly).
Follow-up Monitoring
interviews Specialist. Mid-project
evaluation (6
months) and final
evaluation (24
months).
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To access Tracking Community Ongoing
support referrals Outreach throughout the
services and Follow-up Manager project.
legal surveys and
resources Monitoring
Specialist.
To express Observation Peer Mid-project and
their needs Feedback Support final evaluation
and seek forms Group
help without Leaders and
fear Monitoring
Specialist.
To build Observation Community Mid-project and
social Stories of Outreach final evaluation
relationships change Manager
Event and Project
participation Manager.
analysis
To develop Feedback Peer Mid-project and
coping forms Support final evaluation
strategies to Follow-up Leaders and
address interviews Monitoring
emotional Specialist.
distress.
To develop Event Project Mid-project and
coping participation Manager final evaluation
strategies to tracking and
address Post-event Community
emotional surveys Outreach
distress. Manager.
To evaluate Pre and post- Project Mid-project and
their personal workshop Manager final evaluation.
safety and
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implement surveys and
steps to Monitoring
reduce risk in Follow-up Specialist.
their
surveys
relationships.
Sustainability Sustainability is to be discussed in the group presentation
Annexe A: Project Budget
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Budget Expenditure
Item Details Cost Total
Facilitator 1 x 2-hour session $100 per session x $2,400
monthly for 40 sessions
workshops. $100 per
session x 12 sessions
per year (2 years
total).
Peer Support Group Training for peer $2,000 per year $4,000
Leaders leaders and a small
stipend for
leadership
development (5-6
peer leaders).
Workshop Materials Printed materials, $1,000 per year $2,000
digital resources,
translations,
workshop handouts,
Venue Costs Rental of $1,500 per year $3,000
community spaces
for workshops and
group sessions
Digital Resources Creation and $1,000 per year $2,000
maintenance of
digital content
(website, video
production, online
materials), including
translations.
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Outreach & Outreach materials $1,000 per year $2,000
Promotion (flyers, posters),
community
engagement events,
info sessions, and
online promotion.
Monitoring & Survey $500 per year $1,000
Evaluation development, data
collection tools, staff
time for evaluation,
feedback collection,
and reporting.
Administration Office supplies, $500 per year $1,000
Costs project management
software, and
communication tools
Contingency Fund Reserved for $500 per year $1,000
unforeseen expenses
like emergency
resources or
unexpected costs.
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References
BOCSAR. (2024). NSW Trends in Domestic & Family Violence – Quarterly Report.
[Link]
Domestic_Violence_Quarterly_Trends_Report.pdf
NSW Government. (2025). Support for international students . [Link].
[Link]
SBS News. (2024). These women were unable to access domestic violence support. That’s about to
change. SBS News. [Link]
access-domestic-violence-support-thats-about-to-change/w5iqxj8ug
Spangaro, J., Spence, N., Man, N., Walsh, J., Cameron, J., Hegarty, K., Koziol-McLain, J.,
McMahon, T., Zwi, A., Toole-Anstey, C., & Perry-Indermau, A. (2025). Intimate partner
violence and post-migration stressors reported by refugee women accessing settlement
services. BMC Women’s Health, 25(1). [Link]
SpeakOut. (2025). home - Immigrant Womens Speakout Association. [Link]
SSI Group. (2024, June 10). NSW Multicultural Centre for Women’s and Family Safety - SSI. SSI.
[Link]
The Immigrant Women’s Support Service. (2025). OUR SERVICES - Immigrant Women’s Support
Services. Immigrant Women’s Support Service. [Link]
Vasil, S. (2023). “I felt I had no-one to depend on but myself”: Examining how women with insecure
migration status respond to domestic and family violence in Australia. Women’s Studies
International Forum, 101, 102823. [Link]
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