The Ministry of Justice says it has become the first public sector organisation to receive the DVFREE Tick from Shine, New Zealand's specialist domestic violence prevention charity.

To qualify for the DVFREE Tick, at least 90% of managers within an organisation must undergo DVFREE training. The DVFREE Tick criteria allows two years for large employers to reach that threshold.

The ministry says that working with Shine's specialist advisers and trainers, it has already trained nearly all of its 470 managers and has also provided training for a group of first responders who are able to talk to employees experiencing domestic violence and connect them to specialist help.

The ministry has also commenced an in-person family violence awareness programme for all of its 3,800 employees.

“We are impressed by the level of commitment from the ministry’s leadership for this programme This is an unprecedented level of face-to-face education about domestic violence done by a New Zealand workplace”, Shine Communications Manager Holly Carrington says.

Ministry Chief Executive Andrew Bridgman urges other public sector organisations to follow its lead.

“The model we have developed with Shine has given our managers tools to deal with some of the issues faced by our people, and the systems we have put in place are already working," he says.

Mr Bridgman says that the DVFREE Tick also is a good foundation for the ministry’s client-facing work, especially for employees who engage with families affected by violence at home.