Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) remains a growing concern in the Hills Shire, bringing increased focus to prevention efforts across the region.
In a bid to better understand the issue, Click Collab – a social enterprise founded by Run Against Violence, a non-profit dedicated to preventing family violence – is inviting the Hills community to participate in a survey for the second consecutive year.
The short, anonymous community poll aims to help people in The Hills access relationship support and identify gaps in awareness and early intervention. It consists of five questions, takes around 90 seconds to complete, and is open to anyone aged 16 and over.
“The survey will be open until the end of May,” said Kirrily Dear, co-founder of Click Collab, which she founded with Kerrie Edwards. She added that there has been an uptick in people filling it in over the last few days. However, they are keen to have a diversity of views to ensure every community member has the opportunity to share their thoughts and strengthen community engagement.
The extent of DFV in The Hills is reflected in recent figures, with Castle Hill recording the highest rate of police reports (15%) in the 12 months to March 2025. Other suburbs with notable reporting rates included Baulkham Hills (14%), Kellyville (11%), and Box Hill and North Kellyville (8% each). DFV is present across all suburbs in The Hills Shire.
Click Collab launched The Hills ZERO DFV Navbook last year, a community-led plan aimed at eliminating DFV in the region. Developed for the first time through collaboration between a diverse group of local residents, service providers and organisations, the plan outlines a shared vision, goals and coordinated actions to drive change over a five-year period that began last year.
The Navbook outlines four key strategies: building a caring community, normalising respectful relationships, raising self-esteem and increasing early awareness of support services.
Castle Hill RSL Group (CHRG) has funded the development of Click Collab and the Navbook, with several other local organisations and NSW Police also supporting the initiative.
Kirrily said the next round of funding will be used to work with community partners to address gaps and challenges identified by the survey.
Kirrily said the organisation hopes to use the next round of funding towards upskilling trainers from The Hills Shire. “At this point, we are delivering talks and presentations to brief community groups and organisations on the Navbook and how they can meaningfully contribute to prevention efforts in The Hills,” she said.
Community members can take part in the survey here: https://www.zerodfv.co/community-input
