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2025 In 500 Words
What have we achieved in the first full year of the Zero DFV program? Here's a quick glimpse.
An Australian first
In 2025, The Hills community chose to be the testing ground for something new.
Zero DFV started as a pilot program. The goal was to see if the community could unite around a shared approach to preventing domestic and family violence.
Our aim was not to replace existing services or repeat what was already working. Instead, we wanted to see if we could better connect people, organisations, and efforts that were already helping, and start building a more unified path forward.
This was the first time a program like this had been tried in Australia. What we did this year was not about finishing the work. It was about starting it together.
We began with questions, not answers
At the start of the pilot, we resisted the urge to arrive with a solution.
Instead, we spent time listening to local services, police, council, government partners, community groups, schools, churches, businesses and residents. We asked what people were already doing, what support they needed, and what they felt was missing.
For the first time in The Hills Shire, we created a simple way for people to formally “Click In” to a shared prevention effort whether that meant active involvement or simply staying connected.
In February, the Zero DFV community survey was released. The survey marked the first time these questions were asked at a community level in The Hills Shire, helping us begin to understand local priorities and experiences.
Bringing people together
In March, community members came together for the Strategy Huddle.
This was the first time such a broad mix of people had gathered locally to focus specifically on the prevention of domestic and family violence.
From that conversation, three shared priorities emerged:
- Improving access to counselling and support services
- Building confidence to recognise and respond earlier
- Strengthening respectful relationships across community settings
Later in March, the Goal Squad session tested whether shared action could follow shared conversation.
Participants drafted a five-year vision, explored what progress might look like over time, and identified where community leadership could play a role.
We put the path where everyone can see it
The Zero DFV Navbook was created to bring the community story, priorities and next steps into one accessible place.
Its launch in May marked the first public sharing of a whole-of-community DFV prevention framework in The Hills Shire.
In the second half of the year, Zero DFV began reaching wider audiences through newsletters, community events, social media and the 16 Days of Activism.
More than 100,000 people in The Hills Shire were reached through targeted awareness campaigns.
FUNDING PARTNER
CHRG (Castle Hill RSL Group) is a community-led organisation that has served, supported, and strengthened the communities of North-West Sydney for 50 years.
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