ATTENDING A MASTERCLASS (added on 27/02/2023)

On Wednesday 22 March 2023 (the day before the official conference commences), we are providing four intensive masterclasses for practitioners and staff who work in the family violence space.  The masterclasses have been made possible through the generous sponsorship of both the Minister of Justice and Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Department of Corrections).  Masterclasses provide participants the opportunity to take a "deep-dive" into a selected area of focus.  The masterclasses are intended to be hands on with opportunities to learn, develop skills, share insights and forge connections and networks with others working in the space.  They are also a great "ice-breaker" for those attending the conference alone - a great chance to meet other kaimahi. 

Our two practitioner Masterclasses (for those working with adults who use violence and for those working in victim/survivor spaces) are fully booked out.  There are limited registrations still available in the remaining two classes (one for managers of family violence services and the other for admin and allied support staff of those services).  Registration is limited to those who work with services that hold MOJ and/or Corrections contracts in the family violence space.   

We can now confirm the broad focus of the Masterclasses for Wednesday 22 March 2023:

Practitioners working with adults who use violence (9:30am-1:00pm) - Working with adults who engage in sexual violence in family settings - Pathways and interventions.  The masterclass will be co-facilitated by Tamara Smolinski (Senior Specialist Clinician) and Di Sargent (Specialist Clinician) from the Adult Services team at STOP Christchurch

Support and allied staff working in specialist family violence services (9:30am-1:00pm) - De-escalation strategies and techniques when working with traumatised people and Using EXESS client and case management software

Practitioners working with victim survivors (1:30pm-5:00pm) Systemic Entrapment Praxis - Understanding Systemic Entrapment and implementing that understanding in your work.  This Masterclass will be presented and co-facilitated by Prof Denise Wilson (Associate Dean: Maori Advancement, Tapua Waiora Centre for Maori Health Research) and Rachel Smith (Lecturer - Violence & Trauma Studies) from Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

Managers of specialist family violence services "Socialising and operationalising the Specialist Organisational Standards and Entry to Expert Framework - the practicalities" presented jointly by Te Kupenga National Office staff with Te Puna Aonui National System Practice Leads and National FV Trainers.

Each masterclass runs for three and a half hours which includes a 30 minute break mid-session.  Morning or afternoon tea (but not lunch) will be provided to registered delegates.  For those wanting to have lunch before or other a scheduled masterclass, we can recommend the on-site Karaka Cafe, delicious kai at affordable prices.

MINISTER TO LAUNCH 2023 FAMILY VIOLENCE CONFERENCE (added on 27/02/2023)

We are pleased to confirm that the Hon Marama Davidson, Minister for the Prevention of Family & Sexual Violence (and Associate Minister for Housing) will officially launch our conference on Thursday 23 March, 2023.

Minister Davidson has been instrumental in driving the development of Te Aorerekura (Family Violence and Sexual Violence 25 Year Strategy), our "hiwa-i-te-rangi" in that the strategy holds our hopes and dreams for a more cohesive prevention and response system to both family and sexual violence.

We are delighted that Minister Davidson is able to join us to launch a the conference and its rich and topical programme.

ANNOUNCING ANOTHER KEYNOTE (added on 17/02/2023)

We’re looking forward to the whakaaro of Te Pūkotahitanga (Tangata Whenua Ministerial Advisory Group).

It’s mandated to advise Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence Hon. Marama Davidson and monitor the delivery of Te Aorerekura (Family Violence and Sexual Violence 25 Year Strategy). A unique policy for reform based on Māori values.

Learn more about this kaupapa, the priorities of the rōpū and how whakapapa led actions will lead to intergenerational healing.

A WORD ABOUT REGISTRATIONS (added on 08/02/2023)

While registrations are filling quickly, this is a quick word to those who have already registered. If you need to make changes to your booking (eg, changing the name of the registered delegate, adding a masterclass, seeking a refund for overpayment) or you need a copy of the automatically generated invoice, please email directly to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with details of the changes required.

Please be aware that multiple changes to a confirmed booking confuses the third party booking system so please hold off making a request for changes until you are absolutely certain of the details you want in the booking system.

ANNOUNCING ANOTHER KEYNOTE (added on 03/02/2023)

We are delighted our colleagues from the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse  Dr Charlotte Moore (Rangitāne o Wairau), Kaiwhakahaere, Dr Terry Dobbs (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa), Academic Director Māori and Professor Nicola Gavey, Academic Director Tauiwi, will be joining us at the conference.  

Nicola, Charlotte and Terry will jointly deliver a keynote presentation exploring the importance of weaving together knowledge gained from research, practice and policy development to help us better understand (and address) violence prevention in Aotearoa.

The New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse is operated by the University of Auckland, under a contract funded by the Ministry of Justice.

POSTER COMPETITION (added on 25/01/2023)

Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga, as host of Hiwa-i-te-rangi – National Family Violence Conference 2023 is pleased to launch a poster competition to coincide with the conference being held in Te Whanganui a Tara, Wellington on 23-24 March 2023.

The competition is open to organisations, researchers and collaborations working in the family violence prevention and intervention space.  It provides an opportunity to showcase innovative initiatives, best practices in service delivery, insightful research findings and useful resources relevant to specialist family violence sector kaimahi.

The competition has two prizes – $500 for the best poster as judged by delegates attending the conference and $500 for the best poster as judged by a judging panel comprising representatives from Te Kupenga, Te Puna Aonui, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Development and Ara Poutama.

Selection Criteria

To be accepted for entry in the competition, posters must meet the following requirements:

• Capable of being printed on a single A1 (594mm x 841mm) poster with a white 10mm border
• Contain information that allows the audience to readily identify its relevance to the field of family violence
• Contain the name of at least one author and their contact details so that those viewing the poster can seek further information if they wish
• Be visually appealing
• Is submitted (in PDF format for printing) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 5:00 pm on Friday 10 March 2023. 

Please note that organisations, researchers and groups which are presenting papers at the conference cannot enter a poster on the same topic as their accepted conference paper.

Posters not meeting the selection criteria, or which contain offensive or inappropriate content will be disqualified. 

Posters will be displayed during the conference at the main conference venue.  Those submitting posters are encouraged to attend the conference and be available to delegates to answer questions, promote the content and share/distribute handouts and resources.

While Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga will cover the costs of A1 full-colour poster printing, any additional resources (e.g. handouts) supporting the poster must be provided by the individual/group submitting the poster.

Presentation Suggestions

To assist in developing a visually appealing poster the following suggestions are offered:

• Select only the most pertinent data to report on the poster.
• Bring handouts that include a summary of the poster and any supplementary information.
• Text should be legible at a distance of 1 metre.  Use at least a 24-point type size for the main text.  The title type should be at least 3.5 cm high.
• The title should be kept as short as possible so that it can be read quickly.
• Use upper- and lower-case type throughout the poster.  Upper case font only is more difficult to read.
• Serif fonts (such as Times) are generally easier to read in the body of the text.  Sans serif fonts (such as Arial or Tahoma) are best used in titles, headings, and captions for emphasis.
• Use boldand/or italics for emphasis.
• The poster is visual - use graphical elements to convey information and draw attention
• Keep graphics as simple as possible.  Complex information or research data can be presented in a handout.
• Ensure photographs (if any) can be seen from a 1-metre distance and have a matte finish (to reduce glare). 
• Consider high contrast colour schemes (e.g. white/yellow on black, blue on yellow) and avoid colour schemes that are problematic for people with low vision (e.g. blue on red, grey on black or white)

For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

REMEMBER:  Submissions must be received by 5:00 pm Friday 10 March 2023

ANNOUNCING OUR SECOND KEYNOTE SPEAKER (added on 23/01/2023)

We are delighted to announce our second conference keynote will be delivered by Dr Fiona Cram (Ngāti Pāhauwera). Fiona is the Chair of the Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC) and is a Kaupapa Māori researcher with a background in social and developmental psychology. She is Director of Katoa Ltd and has over 25 years experience in Kaupapa Māori research and evaluation in the fields of health, education, social welfare, corrections and justice, and housing. Fiona has a specific interest in the impacts of IPV on women and their children. More about Fiona's work and writing can be found at www.katoa.net.nz.

Fiona will speak about the work of the FVDRC and the way in which the Committee seeks to hold family violence response systems accountable for their duty to care (or lack thereof) for people over their life course and within the context of their whānau or family.

SELLING OUT - REGISTER NOW (added on 12/01/2023)

We encourage you to register for the Conference quickly. 

While registrations opened a few days before Christmas, we are already at over 60% capacity. 

As at 12 January, 2023 there are now fewer than 75 tickets available!

Make certain to register at National Family Violence Conference 2023

CONFERENCE REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN (added on 14/12/2022)

We are pleased to announce that delegates can now register for the National Family Violence Conference Hiwa-i-te-rangi.  To register for the conference click here or navigate to https://national-family-violence-conference-2023.lilregie.com/

PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWING CLOSE OF CALL FOR PAPERS (added on 12/12/2022)

We are currently working through the submissions to present at the conference, a process taking a little longer than expected due to the amazing and large number of responses to the call for papers.  If you have submitted a proposal, please accept our apologies for the delay in advising you of the outcome.  We expect to be in a position to let you know early in the new year.