The Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS) will host the third annual Overcoming Indigenous Family Violence Forum on the Gold Coast next month, followed by an on-Country workshop at Jellurgal (Dreaming Mountain).

The national forum brings together leaders and service providers to support community-led solutions to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Keynote speakers include Senator Dorinda Cox, the Australian Human Rights Commission's Katie Kiss, Djirra CEO Antoinette Braybrook, Mudgin-Gal CEO Ashlee Donohue, and Carbal programs manager Charlie Rowe.

QIFVLS principal legal officer Thelma Schwartz, of Torres Strait, Papua New Guinean, Samoan and German descent, said the forum has grown from its local origins in Cairns to a major national event.

"It requires a whole of system and whole of community response," Ms Schwartz said.

Ms Schwartz said the goal is to centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in designing solutions that reflect each community's needs.

"We actually hold the solutions in our hands - we always have," she said.

"This is about walking in true partnership with us to actually design outcomes that will work for our communities."

QIFVLS provides free legal and non-legal support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victim-survivors across more than 90 communities, with eight offices throughout Queensland.

"Our clients don't always come to us for legal matters," Ms Schwartz said.

"They've just fled a violent situation.

"They need help with food, shelter, safety and that's where we begin."

Case management officers - the majority of whom are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff - play a key role in providing support and acting as a bridge between clients and lawyers.

"They walk with her in her legal journey and help ensure she understands the process and can give clear instructions," she said.

QIFVLS also runs regular education sessions in community on healthy relationships, elder abuse, financial abuse and related topics.

While the organisation does not practise in criminal law, Ms Schwartz said many women they support are misidentified as perpetrators of violence by police.

"That policing response can trigger immediate child protection notifications," Ms Schwartz said.

"Then she's fighting all of these systems at once."

Ms Schwartz noted frontline staff face significant pressures, including high levels of vicarious trauma and burnout.

"Despite all the supports we put in place - debriefing, EAP - this work is emotionally taxing," she said.

"It's traumatising, and many move on because of that."

Recruitment is another challenge, particularly in remote regions.

"There's a shortage of lawyers across Australia, and fewer want to work outside metro hubs," she said.

"We're not the only legal service struggling to attract and retain experienced staff."

Despite the pressures, Ms Schwartz said the forum offers an important space to share knowledge, connect, and inspire new models of care.

"If you bring together people doing this work across the country, it becomes an excellent learning tool," she said.

"There's always someone who's gone before you - this event helps communities see what's possible."

The forum includes two full days of presentations and panel discussions, followed by a cultural workshop led on Yugambeh Country.

Delegates will also have access to wellbeing activities and an Elders' Room onsite.

"We've got an amazing lineup of speakers who bring lived experience, wisdom, and solutions," Ms Schwartz said.

"It's about learning from one another and moving forward together."

The third annual Overcoming Indigenous Family Violence Forum will be held from 27-28 May at QT Gold Coast, with an on-Country workshop to be held the following day at Jellurgal (Dreaming Mountain).

For those interested in attending, bookings can be made here.