Supporting children, supporting families: Launching our Annual Report 2025–26
28 October 2026
Our Annual Report 2025–26, including our CEO's Report below, was launched at RAV's AGM on Tuesday 27 October.
Through impact stories and evaluation data, our latest annual report highlights a belief central to our work: that everyone has the right to have safe, healthy and respectful relationships, because they are one of the most powerful protective factors, especially for children.
CEO’s report: Responding to intersecting needs
Dr Andrew Bickerdike
Chief Executive Officer
This year, we continued to see how closely relationship difficulties, separation, parenting, mental health, family violence and wellbeing can be connected.
Highlights of the year:
- Supported more than 25,000 clients through 21 sites, additional outreach locations, and online.
- Introduced 3 new services for children and families.
- Published our latest Social Impact Report, with our new report for 2026 now available.
- Developed a new Understanding Family and Domestic Violence Evidence Paper.
- Made key submissions on the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, the future of psychosocial supports in Victoria, and proposed changes to Australian Government Department of Social Services-funded children’s and family programs.
- Prepared a submission on the Second National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.
Many people come to RAV for help with one concern while also managing other issues in their lives. We see this across counselling, family dispute resolution (FDR), family violence services and our dedicated mental health programs.
Mental health is one clear example. In 2023–24, more than one-third of clients across our organisation — over 9,200 people — had a mental health need addressed.
Many were using our broader individual, relationship and family services rather than a dedicated mental health program.
Our capacity to provide comprehensive, integrated support for mental health issues outside our dedicated programs is limited by available funding and resources, particularly at this time of high demand. We also know that accessing other services is not always straightforward. People can face waiting lists, costs and stigma, as well as the difficulty of finding the right support and starting again with a new practitioner.
Children and young people are an important part of this picture. We work directly with children, but also with the adults around them, because supporting parents, carers, families and communities can make an important difference to a child’s wellbeing. This year, we introduced 3 services extending our work with children and families:
- Children’s Mental Health Service: free counselling for children aged 4-13 years, and their parents, who are affected by separation or divorce, to help children manage the changes in their family, and prevent emerging mental health issues from becoming more entrenched.
- The Family Link: a place-based initiative in Sebastopol, with a dedicated Social Connector working alongside families and services to strengthen relationships, increase access to local service, and help families feel supported, understood, and able to support others in turn.
- Lawyer-Inclusive FDR: a pilot FDR service that integrates legal representation, enabling separating clients to attend FDR with their lawyers, and work towards resolving parenting and property matters.
Our annual Social Impact Report has further strengthened our understanding of the impact our services have for clients and families. This evidence is important for evaluating, improving and demonstrating the value of our services. It also enables RAV to contribute meaningfully through advocacy and engagement with government, the sector and reform consultations.
Read more about our 2025–26 year in our Annual Report.