Flat Out Inc.

Service Overview

Flat Out is a state wide advocacy and support service for women who have had contact with the criminal justice and/or prison system in Victoria.  Flat Out receives government funding through the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing and occasional project funds from various sources to enhance its capacity to provide innovative and effective services and advocacy.

Flat Out leads and participates in research and community education, seeking to inform the community and other service providers about the issues that occur for women in the prison system. Through community involvement and education, advocacy and research, Flat Out works towards having a strong voice in the prison abolition movement in Australia, in the hope that eventually prisons will not be seen as a legitimate arm of the justice system, but will be viewed as an antiquated, cruel and ultimately ineffective institution.

Primary Task

  • To support women who are exiting prison or who are at risk of being imprisoned, by providing access and referrals to appropriate and affordable transitional, supported, private, public or community housing.
  • To provide and link women to appropriate support, education and information to re-establish them in the community post-release.
  • To work with women to prevent their re-incarceration.

Our Vision

  • Women are not imprisoned
  • Women’s rights are understood and upheld
  • There is a compassionate response to personal and social trauma

Management Collective and Employees

  • Flat Out is governed by a Management Collective (Board) made up of 7 women from the community with skills in: finance and accounting, law, housing, individual support and advocacy, co-ops, policy and research, communication and grassroots community campaigns. The Flat Out Management Collective embraces fairness and equality through the essential roles of governance, management and leadership that are underpinned by a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and delegated authority.
  • The Flat Out employee team consists of a Manager, Administration Resource Worker, Finance Officer, three Outreach, Support and Advocacy Workers, and the Centre for the Human Rights of Imprisoned People Project Co-ordinator.
  • Organisational exemptions for Flat Out below:
  • VCAT exemption granted for Organisation and Governance by Women only_valid_to_3_April_2018
  • VCAT exemptions granted for Women only and Indigenous Women only_valid_to_29 August_2017

Acknowledgement of Country

Flat Out acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of Australia.  We pay our respects to the Wurundjeri people of the Woi Wurrung Language Group both past and present that make up part of the Kulin Nation, as the traditional owners of the land on which Flat Out is housed.
 
We acknowledge the Elders, families and forebears of the tribes of the Kulin Nation who were the custodians of the land which we occupy. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet was the place of age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal and that the Kulin Nation people’s living culture had and has a unique role in the life of this region.
 
We recognise the loss and grief held by Indigenous people in Australia caused by alienation from traditional lands, the loss of lives and freedoms, and the forced removal of children.
 
We defend the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to live according to their own beliefs, values and customs and the importance of their contribution to strengthening and enriching the heritage of all Australians. 
 
We believe that equal partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are integral to addressing the needs of communities.
 
We believe that that ignorance, apathy, resistance and opposition still exists about reconciliation and the need to overcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage is great. 
 
We believe that through understanding the spiritual relationship between the land and its first peoples, we share our future and take the steps towards living equally in harmony with dignity and respect.