Corporate Plan 2024-2028

Enabling a healthy and thriving workforce that thinks safety and works safely.

• Implement the department’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2021–25 to build a culture of zero tolerance to unsafe practices and behaviours and promote a workforce that thinks safety and works safely.
• Reduce the impact of workplace accidents and injuries through advice, guidance and early intervention related to best practice injury management, including tailored return to work programs, and promoting our Early Injury Intervention Service.
• Provide learning and training solutions that align to the needs of our staff and support the development of our workforce, such as a Charter of Human Rights education program and enhanced training to address recommendations of the Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System.
• Design and implement refreshed honorary justice training for volunteers to support integrity and consistency in practice, and uphold the VPS values in delivering vital justice services to the community.
• Develop, implement and monitor contemporary inclusion and intersectionality strategies and policies that promote inclusion, diversity and improved support for our staff.
• Build workforce capability in understanding and responding to family violence, in turn reducing the risk of workplace harm and building a safer community.

Ensuring a culturally safe justice system for Aboriginal people, shaped by self-determination

• Implement an Aboriginal Workforce Strategy focused on attraction, retention and creating career pathways for the Aboriginal workforce. 
• Enhance understanding and inclusivity through cultural awareness programs for our workforce including Aboriginal cultural awareness and cultural safety, and role-specific training for corrections and youth justice staff.
• In partnership with Victorian Aboriginal communities, continue to implement and support the Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) - including the evaluation of AJA Phase 4 and development and implementation of AJA Phase 5.
• Engage with and respond to the Yoorrook Justice Commission and progress recommendations of the Yoorrook for Justice report, in line with the Victorian Government’s response.
• Drive Treaty readiness activities and contribute to the State’s Treaty negotiating positions.
• Address the continued impacts of Stolen Generations policies and practices, including delivery of the Stolen Generations Reparations Package.
• Lead and support policy and legislative reform to address Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system, including reforms to address priorities identified by Victorian Aboriginal communities, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and external reviews.
• Administer the AJA Community Grants Program, to enable Aboriginal Organisations to design and deliver initiatives that improve Aboriginal justice outcomes.

Work collaboratively to provide effective justice services that keep the Victorian community safe and improve outcomes for our clients.

• Prevent youth offending through early intervention by engaging young people in the community and addressing risk factors for offending.
• Implement the legislated Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework to provide a consistent and effective response for people experiencing or using family violence through collaboration with other services.
• Support Local Site Executive Committees to build capacity to respond to local drivers of crime, ensuring service design is informed by evidence and lived experience.
• Continue to support implementation of the Dhelk Dja Agreement, which aims to ensure that Aboriginal people are culturally strong, safe and self-determining, with families and communities living free from family violence.

Provide efficient and effective corporate and people services to the department that build employee engagement, manage risk and are cost effective.

• Deliver timely, accurate and valuable legal advice and services across the department and to our Ministers and entities.
• Strengthen departmental integrity and child safety practices by building awareness, responding to risks, strengthening compliance activities and adopting an intelligence-led approach.
• Support the Attorney-General in their First Law Officer functions.
• Ensure the department’s corporate service model is fit-for-purpose, well defined and contemporary to our current context, including the fiscal and resource environment.
• Uplift departmental systems, processes, frameworks and tools to support a more efficient working environment, whilst reducing risks.
• Develop and implement a new departmental cyber strategy to ensure we design, build and operate our systems and processes in a cyber-safe and reliable manner.
• Develop and implement new corporate frameworks to manage risks, contribute to climate resilience and environmental sustainability, and ensure business continuity in the face of disruptive events.

Enabling evidence-based and responsible decision making.

• Enhance governance and oversight of key departmental activities through improved linkages and partnerships to ensure decisions and performance monitoring are informed by holistic, integrated, and accurate data.
• Progress reform of the department’s Death in Custody review methods, including enhanced reporting, to better inform changes necessary to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
• Strengthen the department’s approach to evaluation through the establishment of a Centre for Evaluation to improve the performance insights and continuous improvement of departmental programs.
• Develop bail reporting statistics to create an evidence base for monitoring and assessment of recent changes to the Bail Act 1977 (Vic).

Delivering sustainable services that meet community expectations and mitigate risks. 

• Develop a justice sector-wide asset and infrastructure plan to provide a comprehensive analysis of future demand projections and potential supply options, enabling prioritisation of strategic investments.
• Strengthen financial governance to improve the consideration and balance of financial and operational risk.
• Improve access to strategic financial information to better enable financial and operational decisions in planning, investment, and resourcing priorities.