Background The New Zealand Government remains firmly committed to eliminating all forms of family violence. It is everybody's responsibility to make the difference so that our homes are always places of safety.

Aim New Zealand's Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families (the Taskforce) brings together government and non-government sectors, independent Crown entities and the judiciary to work together and provide leadership to end family violence and promote stable, healthy families.

Methods The Taskforce was established in June 2005 to lead and coordinate interagency action to prevent family violence. The unique role of the Taskforce is to inspire a vision, to facilitate action, and to focus on doing those things that can only be achieved with all agencies and sectors linking effectively together. The Taskforce mobilises many agencies, government and non-government, to act collectively to eliminate family violence.

Results Over the past 7 years the Taskforce has overseen the development and implementation of an extensive range of initiatives. This work has provided a solid foundation from which to move forward. This paper will outline key achievements to date and future focus of the Taskforce.

Significance New Zealand is in a unique position—we are a small country with a solid legislative framework and well-developed range of government and non-government service providers. We are ideally placed to become a world leader in identifying and implementing continuous improvements and innovations to create sustainable change in addressing family violence.