Working with specialist providers of 1800RESPECT to maintain continuity of the service

Working with specialist providers of 1800RESPECT to maintain continuity of the service

Telstra Health, in partnership with DVConnect, are committed to the continuity of 1800RESPECT as we navigate the transition phase to 30 June 2022.

In line with our focus on the continuity of the service, we aim to work with the existing 1800RESPECT provider and the existing partners of domestic, family and sexual violence specialist counselling services to ensure the appropriate opportunity is provided for these organisations, and the staff who are essential to the service operations, to be involved in standing up the service – the aim being to minimise any potential disruptions to the service as well as the people involved.

By engaging these specialist providers to become preferred pre-qualified suppliers of specialist counselling and/or more intensive support as required, they will work alongside Telstra Health and DVConnect, our primary partner for clinical services and specialist counselling, to offer additional resourcing, especially at times of high demand. Overall, our priority will be to ensure that all people who access the service will be supported compassionately, triaged effectively and referred efficiently from their first contact.

While our initial focus is engaging the existing specialist providers of 1800RESPECT to ensure continuity of service, we will look to the expand the number of specialist providers delivering the service in the new year (2023) and provide a similar opportunity for other specialist providers to be engaged. In the meantime, we still intend to work closely with the sector more broadly to strengthen the critical service, making it as accessible as possible, for people experiencing, or at risk of, domestic, family and sexual violence and workplace sexual harassment. In particular, we will work with Indigenous organisations and other organisations that support and reach under-represented communities and cohorts who experience barriers in accessing support.

Career opportunities

As mentioned, we are also prioritising the people working to deliver the critical service and creating the opportunity for these individuals be involved with minimal disruption to their current work. We will work with existing specialist providers to ensure we are aligned on communications, scheduling of interviews and training to ensure continuity of service.

Telstra Health will be recruiting for roles including Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence First Responders, Team Leaders and Clinical Leads and other specialist roles.

We will commence recruitment for the service in March, and in the interim period we will be working with the existing service providers. We will open a dedicated recruitment portal where available roles can be viewed and applications can be made.

Next steps

In addition to making the dedicated recruitment portal available, we will be engaging directly with the existing specialist providers to provide the opportunity for ongoing involvement.

Once we have navigated the transition phase and ensured continuity of service, more information will become available to provide a similar opportunity for other specialist providers across the sector to be engaged.