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20/11/2025 – DCJ held a sector briefing on the Transitioning to the New Family Preservation System paper.
13/11/2025 – the Family Preservation mailing list received an email regarding the release of the Transitioning to the New Family Preservation System paper (PDF, 525.6 KB).
07/11/2025 – the Family Preservation mailing list received an email regarding Extending current contracts to support a stable transition.
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In November 2025, DCJ released the Transitioning to the New Family Preservation System paper (PDF, 525.6 KB) detailing the approach that ensures the transition is practical and focused - supporting families and the workforce without compromising service quality. A recorded sector briefing on the transition paper was held on 20 November 2025 with the presentation slides available (PDF, 915.7 KB) for download.
The transition from the current system to the new Family Preservation system is complex, with a variety of changes coming into effect in a short period of time.
Leading through complexity requires clarity and adaptability. DCJ’s transition approach sets out the key activities needed to move forward, while remaining flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances on the ground.
A coordinated, well-paced and responsive transition will take place over three phases, adjusting the capacity in different parts of the system at key increments.
Throughout this transition, the safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority.
As mentioned in Transitioning to the new Family Preservation system and at the briefing, DCJ is temporarily pausing community referrals for the duration of the transition period. Service providers are to stop taking community referrals effective immediately. Child Wellbeing Units have been notified of this change.
In coming weeks, DCJ will be writing to current service providers to provide their Phase 1 capacity target.
DCJ is requesting action to improve the accuracy of critical data in infoShare by Thursday, 18 December 2025. Accurate data on families in service is essential to enable current service providers and DCJ to effectively manage capacity targets and deliver transition to the new Family Preservation system.
DCJ will extend current contracts for service providers delivering the soon-to-be decommissioned models for a period of three months, through to 30 June 2026. This will ensure a smooth transition for families and staff through this change.
Current contracts for Brighter Futures (including SafeCare), Youth Hope, Resilient Families, Intensive Family Preservation (IFP), Intensive Family Based Services (IFBS) and Permanency Support Program – Family Preservation (PSP-FP) contracts will be extended to 30 June 2026.
New contracts for Families Together and Aboriginal Family Preservation will commence on 1 July 2026.
Current contracts for Multisystemic therapy – Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) and Family Functioning Therapy Casework - High Track will end on 31 March 2026 as currently planned. New contracts for (MST-CAN) and FFT-CW - High Track will commence on 1 April 2026 as planned.
We know from advocacy from the sector that this adjustment supports workforce stability and gives service providers time to prepare, ensuring a well-managed transition.
DCJ is implementing a phased approach to transition to the redesigned Family Preservation system. This approach gradually manages service capacity, realigns the system, and ensures continuity of care for families. Each stage will be guided by up-to-date information and supported by strong governance, regular capacity analysis, and active risk management.
Phase One: Preparation (Nov 2025 – Mar 2026)
Phase Two: Adjustment (Apr 2026 – Jun 2026)
Phase Three: Establishment (Jul 2026 – Sep 2026)
We deeply value the dedication and commitment of our workforce and the vital role they play in supporting families every day; their professionalism and resilience are the foundation in delivering quality services, especially during this transition. DCJ is committed to supporting service providers to ensure every staff member feels informed, prepared, and supported at every stage. Together, we can make this change a success. This includes:
Children and young people remain at the heart of the new Family Preservation system. As part of the transition, we understand the impact on families and are planning carefully for each individual situation to ensure continuity of care and support. Service providers and their staff will continue working with children at risk and families facing complex challenges, with tailored approaches to meet their needs.
As always, if there are concerns that a child is at risk of significant harm, a report should be made to the Helpline.
The primary objective of Family Preservation is to keep children safe at home with their families, and prevent removal, placement in out-of-home care (OOHC), and future contact with the child protection system. Family Preservation also aims to support children and families to achieve wider social benefits, including better educational attainment and improved health and wellbeing indicators.
The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is redesigning the Family Preservation service system in NSW to improve the outcomes, experience, suitability, and accessibility for families who want to access and would benefit from working with a Family Preservation service. For Aboriginal children, young people, and families this also means increasing culturally safe and responsive and community-led services that centre family-led decision making.
The redesign aims to make Family Preservation services more responsive to family needs, and more effective at supporting families to achieve outcomes. We have worked with the sector and other partners on the redesign as part of recommissioning, and in readiness for new contracts in July 2026.
In April 2024, DCJ released the Redesigning Family Preservation in NSW Discussion Paper (PDF, 1.5 MB) setting out its vision for reform and seeking feedback on elements of the new system design. A total of 66 submissions were received in response to the Paper. An online sector briefing was held on Thursday 11 April 2024. If you would like to watch it again, you can do so here.
In December 2024, DCJ released the Finalising the Family Preservation foundational elements paper (PDF, 367.5 KB) summarising stakeholder feedback in response to the Discussion Paper and communicates DCJ’s final position on key elements of the design ahead of procurement activity in 2025. A recorded sector briefing on the paper was held on 5 February.
In March 2025, DCJ released version 1 of the Family Preservation Program Specifications. In June 2025, DCJ released version 1.1 of the Family Preservation Program Specifications (draft) (PDF, 1.5 MB) which outlines the objectives, target groups, services to be delivered, and program outcomes for the redesigned Family Preservation Program. The specifications will continue to be developed until the new contracts with service providers start in 2026. A recorded sector briefing on the Specifications was held on 19 March 2025.
In May 2025, DCJ released the Family Preservation Funding Approach (PDF, 365.0 KB), which outlines investment levels, funding allocation and costings that ensures the redesign is efficient, effective, and responsive to children, families and communities. A recorded sector briefing on the Funding Approach was held on 7 May 2025. A Ministerial media release is also available.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (PDF, 379.8 KB) have been developed to assist in understanding the future Family Preservation Program and further recommissioning activities. The FAQs will continue to be updated as recommissioning progresses.
DCJ has worked with the sector on the redesign since mid-2022. We held stakeholder workshops with a range of practice and operational representatives from DCJ districts and ACCO and non-ACCO Family Preservation service providers, across NSW. The workshops generated discussion among stakeholders and elicited their reflections on the challenges and common problems with the current service system, examples of good practice, and ideas for system improvements. The extensive feedback was analysed by the Family and Community Services Insights, Analysis and Research (FACSIAR) team within DCJ, and published in a Family Preservation What We Heard paper (PDF, 4.0 MB).
We also partnered with AbSec to deliver ‘Listen and Learn’ workshops, held in person and on Country, with a range of Aboriginal stakeholders, non-Aboriginal ACCO staff, and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal DCJ staff to better understand their experiences of Family Preservation in NSW. This feedback was analysed by AbSec with DCJ and published in the Aboriginal Family Preservation What We Heard paper (PDF, 2.6 MB).
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