Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men's groups

1. Introduction

Version followed: what the Healing Foundation published on its Our Men Our Healing (OMOH) pilots (Maningrida, Ngukurr and Wurrumiyanga, NT, 2013–2015) and its 2021 commissioned report on Dardi Munwurro's men's healing programs (Victoria), plus the community report on the Yaba Bimbie Men's Group (Yarrabah, Qld). There is no single manual. OMOH detail here comes from the evaluators' 2016 conference slides and a 2025 scoping review [uncertain where noted].

What it is. These are not a therapy or a manualised programme. They are a family of community-owned, community-led healing initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Formats include men's groups, camps on Country, cultural revival, yarning circles, counselling, behaviour-change groups, residential programs and mentoring for young men. Each group is designed locally. The Healing Foundation (a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation) funds and supports local organisations to design and deliver them, and it runs men's and women's healing as separate streams. [source: Healing Foundation, Community healing web page; Prince & Torres Carne 2016]

Who holds cultural authority. Cultural authority rests with the local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men, Elders and Traditional Owners of each community, and with the community-controlled organisation that hosts the group. Examples are the Malabam Health Board at Maningrida, Dardi Munwurro in Victoria, and Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service with the Yaba Bimbie leaders at Yarrabah. In OMOH the men themselves set the goals and decided what counted as success and as evidence. Separate men's business means a non-Indigenous or female clinician does not lead the group, attend men's cultural business uninvited, or run ceremony. Their role is to refer, support, partner and supply clinical services when asked. Ceremonial content is not described in this guide. [source: Healing Foundation; Prince & Torres Carne 2016; Horak & Thompson 2025; McCalman et al. 2008] No published men's group material specific to Torres Strait Islander communities is cited. Torres Strait Islander men's protocols must be learned locally [uncertain].

How change is understood. The programme owners describe healing as holistic: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual, and connected to culture, family and land. Healing works best when solutions are culturally strong, developed locally and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. OMOH aimed to re-establish men's wellbeing so they could see themselves as nurturers of children, teachers of cultural knowledge and protectors of family and community. Dardi Munwurro pairs cultural and spiritual strengthening with accountability for violence, within a non-shaming environment. [source: Healing Foundation; Prince & Torres Carne 2016; Deloitte Access Economics 2021; Compass/Dardi Munwurro listing]

2. Framework

There is no fixed phase model across programmes. What follows is the published structure of each version, then a cross-programme sequence that is my [synthesis].

Our Men Our Healing (Healing Foundation pilots, NT, 2013–2015). [source: Prince & Torres Carne 2016; Horak & Thompson 2025]

Wurrumiyanga (Tiwi): counselling, group programs, yarning circles, community events and cultural camps on Country.
Maningrida (Gurrutu Raypirri, with Malabam Health Board): men aged 16 to 60+; art-centred workshops and weekend fishing-and-barbecue trips. Leadership rested heavily on one Elder, and there was no fixed meeting place.
Ngukurr (Men's Cultural Healing Program): a safe-space group offering counselling, social and emotional wellbeing support and advocacy, with cultural camps where Elders shared knowledge.
Across sites: camps for young men (about 16–20) where Elders stressed knowing story and song for Country. Ceremonies and celebrations returned, some after decades.
Evaluation built in from the start: evaluators sat with the men while they set goals, and the men developed the measures. Expected outcomes changed between and within communities over time.
Session counts were not published [uncertain].

Dardi Munwurro (Victoria; described in Healing Foundation–commissioned report, 2021). [source: Deloitte Access Economics 2021; Compass listing]

Men's Healing and Behaviour Change (MHBC): groups meet weekly in Melbourne and fortnightly elsewhere in Victoria. Each group has two facilitators supported by community Elders. The program meets a 40-hour minimum and uses residential camps and workshops. One-week intensives run in prisons. Topics: understanding agreements, accountability, journey of life, Aboriginal identity and connection, conflict resolution, understanding emotions, understanding violence, respectful relationships. Referrals come from Corrections Victoria, Koori Court and self-referral.
Ngarra Jarranounith Place (residential): 16 weeks in transitional houses. Men must be substance-free, with medically supervised detox first if needed. Themes: strong spirit and culture, taking responsibility, healthy relationships. Includes smoking ceremonies, yarning circles, meditation, writing, music, art and vocational work on Country, plus a family engagement worker. Follow-up lasts up to 18 months, and men are encouraged to join a local men's group afterwards. A clinical governance group that includes an Aboriginal psychologist oversees it.
Journeys / Bramung Jaarn (ages 10–17): group sessions, one-to-one mentoring and Aboriginal youth support aimed at diversion from the justice system. Six domains: culture, emotional intelligence, health, relationships, responsibility, spirit.
Other: Brother to Brother, a 24/7 Aboriginal men's crisis line (from 2020).

Yaba Bimbie Men's Group (Yarrabah, from about 2001). [source: McCalman et al. 2008; McCalman et al. 2006 and 2007 abstracts]

Local men lead it, with a Men's Group Coordinator and worker. James Cook University partnered with the group through participatory action research.
Its work moved from men's own concerns (young people, substance use, absent fathers) to the Family Wellbeing empowerment course, bush camps for youth, priority-setting, advocacy and joint men's and women's projects on crime prevention and family violence.
The structured 30-hour Family Wellbeing course was delivered informally to young people because the full structure did not suit them.

Cross-programme sequence for a clinician partnering with a group [synthesis, drawn from the sources above]:

Community invitation and ownership: a community organisation or men's leadership group asks for support. Example: the Darwin town-camp men's leadership group formed after a Healing Foundation gathering in 2014. Move on once local male leadership and a host organisation are named.
Men define goals and success measures, OMOH-style. Move on once the goals are written in the men's own terms.
Regular gathering in a consistent, culturally safe place, plus cultural and Country-based activities. Move on once attendance is steady and Elders are involved.
Focused healing work such as behaviour change, counselling, fathering or Family Wellbeing, with referral to clinical services as needed.
Men taking up roles as mentors, leaders and advocates, with follow-up and ongoing group membership rather than discharge.

3. Guiding principles

Principles marked HF come from the Healing Foundation. Others are tagged by source.

Community-led and locally designed (HF). Do not import a program. Ask what the community's men want and support that.
Culturally strong solutions (HF). Culture, Country, kinship and story are the intervention, not an add-on to clinical work.
Holistic healing (HF; Horak & Thompson 2025). Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs are addressed together, so practical issues such as housing, court and employment belong in scope.
Separate men's and women's healing (HF). Respect gendered business and ask who may be present before attending.
Men define success and evidence (Prince & Torres Carne 2016). Use the men's own goals and measures, and keep any standardised tools secondary.
The story belongs to the community (Prince & Torres Carne 2016). Get consent for any data, notes, photographs or reports. Ownership stays local.
Strengths-based (Horak & Thompson 2025). Start from men's roles as fathers, uncles and grandfathers, not from deficits.
Male Aboriginal leadership with Elder involvement (Horak & Thompson 2025; Deloitte 2021). Facilitators are Aboriginal men. Elders guide; you support.
Consistent meeting space (Horak & Thompson 2025). A stable, safe venue is one of six components the review linked with efficacy. Advocate for one.
Kinship (Horak & Thompson 2025). Expect family obligations to affect attendance, and treat kin relationships as resources.
Non-shaming accountability (Dardi Munwurro). Name violence clearly while protecting dignity. Shame drives men out.
Trauma-aware and culturally grounded, led by men and supported by women (Deloitte 2021). Partner with women's services and keep partner safety central.
Respect for women and care for family as cultural responsibilities (Deloitte 2021). Frame behaviour change as restoring cultural roles.
Empowerment and control (Yarrabah / Family Wellbeing). Help men frame problems as solvable challenges they can act on.
Build local capacity (Prince & Torres Carne 2016; McCalman et al. 2008). Leave skills behind (facilitation, evaluation, supervision) rather than dependence on you.
Clinician as partner, not leader [synthesis, from the sources' emphasis on local leadership]. Take part only by invitation, and never run ceremony.

4. Intervention inventory

These components are delivered by local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, Elders and community-controlled organisations. For each one the clinician's role is stated. Where the sources describe what the group does but not how a clinician should help, the clinician's steps are my [synthesis]. Cultural and ceremonial content is not described.

4.1 Community healing forum or men's gathering (starting a group)

Purpose / when: a community or service wants a men's healing response and the men's priorities are not yet known. In Darwin (2014) the Healing Foundation held the first gathering for men from the town communities to discuss restoring "harmony and balance". With a partner service, the men then formed a leadership group that went on to advocacy and an employment strategy. The Masig (Torres Strait) forum in 2018 brought community and agencies together to name healing needs. [source: Healing Foundation, Community healing page]
Steps (clinician as supporter) [synthesis]: (1) Work through the local community-controlled organisation, and let Aboriginal men convene and chair. (2) Offer practical help only: venue, transport, food, note-taking if asked. (3) Attend only if invited. Listen and do not present a program. (4) After the forum, ask the convenors what support they want from you, such as referral pathways, clinical backup or help with funding applications.
Example language (illustrative): "I'm here to listen and to help with whatever the men decide they need. I won't be running anything."
Watch for: agencies dominating the room, and outsiders setting the agenda. It is working when the men name their own leaders and priorities and a leadership group meets again without you.

4.2 Men setting their own goals and success measures

Purpose / when: at the start of any group and whenever it reviews its work. In OMOH, evaluators sat alongside the men while they set goals. The men developed the measures and what counted as evidence, and outcomes were allowed to change over time. [source: Prince & Torres Carne 2016]
Steps [synthesis drawing on source]: (1) In a yarning format, ask what life would look like for men, families and the community if the group worked. (2) Record the answers in the men's words, with their permission. (3) Ask how they would know it was happening (things seen, heard or counted locally). (4) Agree who holds the record. It belongs to the group. (5) Revisit at agreed intervals and let goals change.
Example language (illustrative): "What would your kids or the old people notice if this group was doing its job?"
Watch for: funder targets displacing the men's goals. It is working when men cite their own measures and teach others to collect them, which builds local evaluation capacity.

4.3 Regular men's group in a consistent safe space

Purpose / when: the core of most programs. It provides an informal, culturally safe, confidential place for men to connect. A consistent meeting space and a male leadership team are among the six components the review linked with efficacy; the other four are kinship, cultural understanding, holistic healing and a strengths-based approach. [source: Horak & Thompson 2025; SNAICC Brutha's Day Out abstract]
Published formats: His Tribe (Melbourne) ran 12 weekly evening sessions of 2.5 hours, plus cultural weekends. Each meeting opened with a smoking ceremony and a shared meal. Strong Fathers Strong Families (Lower Gulf of Carpentaria) ran six weekly 3-hour yarning sessions. Dardi Munwurro MHBC meets weekly or fortnightly with two facilitators and Elders present. [source: Horak & Thompson 2025; Deloitte 2021]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: (1) Refer and introduce clients through the group's coordinator rather than sending them cold. (2) If invited to attend, ask beforehand what part you may join and sit as a guest. (3) Opening practices such as a smoking ceremony belong to the local men and Elders; never lead them. (4) Offer to run a session on a clinical topic only if asked, co-facilitated with an Aboriginal male facilitator.
Example language (illustrative): "There's a men's group on Tuesday nights run by local men. Would you like me to ask the coordinator to give you a call?"
Watch for: the venue changing, or reliance on one leader (both noted as barriers at Maningrida). It is working when attendance is steady and men bring other men.

4.4 Yarning and healing circles

Purpose / when: structured conversation where men tell their stories, are heard and connect to community. Programs describe these circles as powerful for helping men develop their story. They are used in OMOH, Dardi Munwurro's residential program and community groups. [source: SNAICC Brutha's Day Out; Deloitte 2021; Horak & Thompson 2025]
Steps: the published sources do not give circle protocols, which are led and set locally [uncertain]. Clinician steps [synthesis]: prepare a client by explaining that men share in turn and listen without interrupting, that sharing is optional, and that what is said stays in the circle. Debrief afterwards in individual sessions if the client wants to.
Example language (illustrative): "You can just listen the first time. Nobody has to tell their story until they're ready."
Watch for: disclosures of trauma, violence or suicidality that need follow-up. Agree in advance with facilitators how they will hand on concerns. It is working when the client describes feeling heard and comes back.

4.5 Cultural camps and trips on Country

Purpose / when: reconnection with culture, Country and Elders, especially for young men. OMOH camps for young men (about 16–20) had Elders teaching the importance of story and song for Country. Yarrabah bush camps involved hunting, bush food gathering, storytelling with Elders, singing and dance. Maningrida ran weekend fishing-and-barbecue trips. Dardi Munwurro MHBC includes residential camps. [source: Prince & Torres Carne 2016; McCalman et al. 2008; Horak & Thompson 2025; Compass listing]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: (1) Support logistics and consent (guardian consent for minors, medication plans, health risks). (2) Make sure safety plans for at-risk participants are agreed with the Aboriginal leaders before the camp. (3) Attend only if invited, and accept being excluded from men's cultural business. (4) Afterwards, help the young man link what he gained to his goals.
Example language (illustrative): "What did the old men teach you out there that you want to hold on to?"
Watch for: medical and emotional risk away from services. It is working when young men want to learn more and seek out Elders.

4.6 Cultural revival (song, story, ceremony)

Purpose / when: under OMOH, men wanted to learn and sing old songs, young men began singing ceremony songs, and some ceremonies returned after decades. [source: Prince & Torres Carne 2016]
Clinician role: none in delivery. This is held entirely by Elders and cultural authorities, and its content is not described here. Clinician steps [synthesis]: recognise it as healing in your formulation, protect the time (for example, reschedule appointments around cultural obligations), and never ask for restricted details.
Watch for: clinical services treating cultural absence as non-adherence.

4.7 Art-based workshops

Purpose / when: the Maningrida Gurrutu Raypirri program centred on art workshops to connect men with community. Dardi Munwurro's residential program uses music, writing and art, with writing used to help men name emotions. [source: Horak & Thompson 2025; Deloitte 2021]
Steps (clinician, if asked to support) [synthesis]: offer a simple prompt (draw, carve or write about family, Country or a turning point), let men talk while they make, and invite them to name one feeling linked to the piece. Do not interpret cultural imagery.
Example language (illustrative): "If that piece could talk, what would it say about how you've been feeling?"
Watch for: pressure to share the work. It is working when men can put words to feelings they could not name before.

4.8 Counselling, social and emotional wellbeing support and advocacy within the program

Purpose / when: OMOH at Ngukurr and Wurrumiyanga combined the group with counselling, social and emotional wellbeing support and advocacy. Dardi Munwurro uses peer support plus formal counselling to identify and address trauma. [source: Horak & Thompson 2025; Deloitte 2021]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: (1) Offer individual sessions on site or alongside the group, by arrangement with the host organisation. (2) Pair with an Aboriginal male worker if the client wishes. (3) Advocate on courts, Centrelink, housing and child protection as part of care. (4) Use the client's own language for distress, and do not rush diagnostic labels.
Example language (illustrative): "We can talk one-on-one here, or with [Aboriginal worker] in the room, whatever suits you."
Watch for: shame about seeing a counsellor. It is working when men self-refer and bring others.

4.9 Men's healing and behaviour change group (Dardi Munwurro MHBC)

Purpose / when: for Aboriginal men who use violence. The aim is for men to become leaders, role models and mentors, with change happening in a "non-shaming environment". It runs in the community (weekly in Melbourne, fortnightly regionally) and as one-week prison intensives, to a 40-hour minimum. Two facilitators lead each group, supported by Elders. [source: Compass listing; Deloitte 2021]
Published topics: understanding agreements; accountability; journey of life; Aboriginal identity and connection; conflict resolution; understanding emotions; understanding violence; respectful relationships. The 2021 report also lists themes of responsibility, communication, emotions, leadership, intimacy and relationships. Session-by-session content is not public [uncertain].
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: (1) Refer through the service's intake; the published pathways are Corrections Victoria, Koori Court and self-referral. (2) Share risk information under your jurisdiction's family-violence information-sharing rules. (3) Keep partner and child safety work running in parallel with a women's or family safety service. (4) In your own sessions, reinforce the group's language of accountability without shaming.
Example language (illustrative): "The group is run by Aboriginal men who've walked this road. It's about being the father and partner you want to be, and owning what's happened."
Watch for: reported change that the family does not confirm. The 2021 report noted that outcome data were self-reported and were not checked with victims. It is working when partner safety reports, not only the man's account, show change.

4.10 Residential healing program (Ngarra Jarranounith Place)

Purpose / when: for men with family-violence involvement, often with substance use: men on Family Violence Intervention Orders, men charged in the past 12 months, court-ordered referrals and self-referrals from the prison program. 16 weeks in transitional houses, substance-free, with medically supervised detox first if needed. Components: smoking ceremonies, yarning circles, meditation, writing to name emotions, music and art, vocational work on Country with Parks Victoria, a family engagement worker, and follow-up for up to 18 months. Oversight by a clinical governance group including an Aboriginal psychologist. [source: Deloitte 2021]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: arrange detox and medical clearance before entry; supply a clinical handover; offer to join clinical governance or provide supervision if asked; plan the hand-back to a local men's group and community services for after the 16 weeks.
Watch for: relapse and risk spikes at transition. It is working when the man stays engaged in follow-up and joins a local men's group.

4.11 Youth mentoring and diversion (Journeys / Bramung Jaarn; young men's camps)

Purpose / when: young men aged 10–17 with complex needs, often referred by parents or others. Peer groups, one-to-one mentoring with strong male mentors and Elders, and Aboriginal youth support for diversion from justice. Six domains: culture, emotional intelligence, health, relationships, responsibility, spirit. In the report's case example, a worker re-engaged a reluctant young man through informal catch-ups and shared activities, then helped him back into education. [source: Deloitte 2021; Horak & Thompson 2025]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: refer with the young person's and guardian's consent; coordinate with child protection and youth justice; let the mentor lead on relationship; you handle mental health assessment and risk.
Example language (illustrative): "There's a fella who runs a young men's program. He's not a counsellor. Want to meet him for a feed first?"
Watch for: young men struggling to connect with culture (a barrier the review noted). It is working when school, justice or family contact improves.

4.12 Family Wellbeing empowerment course (as used by Yaba Bimbie Men's Group)

Purpose / when: Family Wellbeing is a holistic personal development program developed by Stolen Generations Aboriginal people in Adelaide in the early 1990s. It covers communication, conflict resolution, leadership, relationships and emotions. The Yarrabah men's and women's groups delivered it to adults. For young people it was run informally within groups and camps, because the structured 30-hour course did not fit them. [source: McCalman et al. 2008]
Steps: delivery requires Family Wellbeing facilitator training. Its curriculum is not drawn on [uncertain]. Clinician steps [synthesis]: find out whether trained local facilitators run it, refer to it, and use its themes as shared language in your sessions.
Watch for: rigid delivery to groups it does not suit. It is working when men report greater sense of control over their lives (the empowerment aim).

4.13 Priority-setting, vision statements and group "Do's and Don'ts"

Purpose / when: Yarrabah's men's group drew up "Do's and Don'ts" (from 2001) and helped write a youth vision statement. The fuller literature review describes strategies for groups to define and rank goals, plan and carry out work, and gather evidence for advocacy. [source: McCalman et al. 2008; McCalman et al. 2006 abstract]
Steps (clinician as facilitator only if the group asks) [synthesis]: list the concerns, have the men rank them, pick one achievable action, assign who does what and by when, and review next meeting. The group writes and owns the agreements.
Example language (illustrative): "Of everything on the list, which one could the group make a start on this month?"
Watch for: lists without action. It is working when actions are completed and reported back.

4.14 Advocacy and leadership work

Purpose / when: men's groups act as community advocates. The Darwin leadership group advocated for the town communities and developed an employment strategy. Yarrabah men led crime prevention and family violence proposals, including a planned diversion option for court-mandated men. [source: Healing Foundation; McCalman et al. 2008]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: provide letters of support, data the group has consented to share, and introductions to services. Avoid speaking for the group.
Watch for: burnout in a few leaders. It is working when the group is consulted by agencies in its own right.

4.15 Fathering groups

Purpose / when: for men wanting to strengthen fathering. Published examples: Strong Fathers Strong Families (six weekly 3-hour yarning sessions; Aboriginal male facilitators preferred, with health workers involved); Quop Maaman Aboriginal Fathering Project (six workshops over six months, with Elders' knowledge, language and family connections); SMS4dads (six weeks of yarning plus supportive text messages and a mood tracker for young Aboriginal fathers, with older-to-younger mentoring). [source: Horak & Thompson 2025, secondary; primary evaluations not drawn on [uncertain]]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: screen for perinatal or paternal depression; refer to a local fathering group; use "nurturer" and "teacher" roles (OMOH) as strengths in your sessions.
Example language (illustrative): "What do you want your kids to learn from you that you learned from your old people?"

4.16 Men's Sheds and activity-based groups

Purpose / when: activity-based gathering with health promotion, informal learning and meaningful tasks in a culturally safe space with yarning circles. LifeCycle Youth Connect (Broome and Derby) ran 60 mobile bike-repair sessions over 12 months. [source: Horak & Thompson 2025, secondary]
Clinician role [synthesis]: refer men for whom talking-first groups are a barrier, and suggest a health check or brief contact in that setting if the shed invites it.

4.17 Family engagement and partnership with women

Purpose / when: programs describe healing as led by Aboriginal men with support from women, and they include women's involvement among enablers. NJP employs a family engagement worker. In OMOH, women reported feeling safer and better supported. Yarrabah men's and women's groups worked in partnership. [source: Deloitte 2021; Horak & Thompson 2025; Prince & Torres Carne 2016; McCalman et al. 2008]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: keep partner contact separate and safety-led; link the partner to women's services; never use the partner to motivate the man in ways that raise her risk.

4.18 Wraparound linkage, crisis support and follow-up

Purpose / when: holistic healing includes practical needs. Dardi connects clients with housing and other services, runs the Brother to Brother 24/7 Aboriginal men's crisis line, and offers NJP follow-up for up to 18 months. [source: Deloitte 2021]
Steps (clinician) [synthesis]: give the client crisis-line details alongside your service's after-hours plan; make warm referrals for housing, legal and alcohol and other drug services; plan continued group membership rather than discharge.

4.19 Participatory action research and reflective sessions (support for workers and groups)

Purpose / when: at Yarrabah, JCU researchers acted as external peer facilitators in reflective sessions. They helped workers and men frame problems as solvable challenges, and they handled data ownership and consent with the steering committee. [source: McCalman et al. 2008]
Steps (clinician offering supervision or reflection) [synthesis]: hold regular reflective sessions with Aboriginal workers on their terms, focused on what is working, what is stuck and the next action. Keep data under community ownership.
Watch for: extracting knowledge without return. It is working when local workers run the reflection themselves.

5. Handling problems

Barriers named in the sources come from Horak & Thompson 2025, McCalman et al. 2008 and Deloitte 2021. Unless tagged otherwise, the responses are my [synthesis].

Short-term or unstable funding; resources that come and go in remote areas (source-named). Help the host organisation build the case: men's own outcome records (4.2), letters of support, and the cost-benefit framing in Deloitte 2021. Do not start a group you cannot help sustain.
Leadership resting on one person (source-named: Maningrida). Encourage the group to grow a leadership team, and ask Elders who else should carry roles. Offer reflective support (4.19) to more than one leader.
No permanent meeting place (source-named). Advocate with community-controlled organisations, councils and services for a stable, culturally safe venue. Consistency matters more than comfort.
Low attendance (source-named). Ask the group, not the individual, what gets in the way: transport, sorry business, work, shame, or the presence of certain kin. Activity-based formats (fishing, art, sheds, bike repair) can draw men who avoid talk-based groups.
Young men struggling to connect with culture (source-named). Do not treat this as resistance. Elder-led camps, mentors close in age and practical activities give a way in. A young man may feel shame at not knowing culture, so normalise learning.
Worker inexperience, poor supervision and staff gaps (source-named: Yarrabah). Offer culturally safe supervision if asked, help cover gaps with warm referrals, and push for replacement staff quickly.
Structured courses not fitting participants (source-named: Family Wellbeing with young people). Follow the Yarrabah approach of delivering the content informally inside activities, with the program owner's agreement.
Self-reported outcomes and unverified violence change (source-named: Deloitte 2021). Check family-violence outcomes through partner-safety contacts and agency data. Never rely only on the man's account to judge risk.
Shame and "resistance" in behaviour-change work. Dardi's stated principle is non-shaming accountability. Name the behaviour, and link change to cultural roles (protector, father, uncle). Reduce shame rather than increase confrontation.
Overwhelm or trauma disclosure in circles or camps. Agree in advance with the Aboriginal facilitators how and to whom concerns are passed. Offer same-day individual follow-up. Make sure grounding and support are available away from services before camps.
Suicide or self-harm risk. Follow standard risk assessment and safety planning. Include kin and Elders the man nominates. Give Aboriginal-specific crisis options (for example, a service like Brother to Brother where available) alongside standard ones. Plan lethal-means safety (storage and removal) with family where appropriate.
Ruptures with the clinician or service. If the group or a man feels a service has overstepped (such as by taking stories, imposing measures or attending business uninvited), acknowledge it plainly, ask what repair looks like, and step back to the role the group defines. The story belongs to the community (Prince & Torres Carne 2016).
Cultural authority disputes or contested leadership. Do not adjudicate. Refer back to the host community-controlled organisation, Elders and Traditional Owners, and pause your involvement until it is resolved.
Clinician boundary problems (modality-specific). Requests to join ceremony, men's business or women's business, or to record cultural content: decline unless invited by those with cultural authority, and never document restricted content. A female clinician supports through referral and partner or family work, not by attending men's business.
Non-adherence to court-mandated attendance. Clarify reporting obligations with the man at the start. Problem-solve barriers before breach is reported, and coordinate with the program and corrections rather than reporting unilaterally where discretion exists.
Group used to excuse violence. Keep partner and child safety primary, and share risk information under family-violence information-sharing laws. Raise it with facilitators, consistent with their own principle of respect for women and accountability.
Substance use. Residential programs such as NJP require abstinence and medically supervised detox first (Deloitte 2021). For community groups, agree with facilitators on attendance when intoxicated, and offer alcohol and other drug referral.
Not covered by the sources [uncertain]: specific protocols for Torres Strait Islander men's groups, urban mixed-nation groups, LGBTQIA+ Aboriginal men, and online or hybrid groups. Seek guidance from local community-controlled organisations.

Sources

Sources:

Further reading (not drawn on; cited only through the sources above) [uncertain]: Healing Foundation (2015) Our Men Our Healing full evaluation report; Gee et al. (2022) His Tribe; Reilly & Rees (2018) Strong Fathers Strong Families; Collard et al. (2016) Quop Maaman; Fletcher et al. (2017) SMS4dads; Henwood et al. (2017) Men's Sheds; Family Wellbeing program curriculum.

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