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Procurement is now complete for most future Family Preservation contracts across all models/frameworks as listed below. Procurement for a small number of Aboriginal Family Preservation packages remains ongoing.
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation |
|
| Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST CAN) |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
| Nabu |
|
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation* |
|
| Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST CAN) |
|
*Some AFP packages in this area are not yet finalised.
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation |
|
| Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation* |
|
| Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
*Some AFP packages in this area are not yet finalised.
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation* |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
*Some AFP packages in this area are not yet finalised.
| Families Together |
|
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Family Preservation* |
|
| Functional Family Therapy - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) |
|
*Some AFP packages in this area are not yet finalised.
New contracts for MST-CAN and FFT-CW - High Track commence on 1 April 2026.
New contracts for Families Together and Aboriginal Family Preservation commence on 1 July 2026.
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 end 30 June 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (PDF, 458.0 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.
In November 2025, DCJ released the Transitioning to the New Family Preservation System paper (PDF, 525.6 KB) (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) (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.
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.
As outlined in the Transitioning to the new Family Preservation system paper, we're pleased to share that DCJ's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is being expanded to ensure staff of all current service providers have access to support during this period. While we acknowledge that staff are, and should be supported by their employer on changes that affect them, we want to make sure everyone is supported during this transition.
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.
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).
DCJ also partnered with AbSec to deliver 'Listen and Learn' workshops, held in person and on Country, with Aboriginal stakeholders and ACCO and DCJ staff. This feedback was jointy analysed by AbSec and DCJ and published in the Aboriginal Family Preservation What We Heard paper (PDF, 2.6 MB).
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