Flat Out Inc.

What Flat Out Inc. does

Flat Out Inc. is a non-profit community organization founded in 1988 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It provides advocacy, direct support services, and systemic reform work for criminalized women, trans, and gender diverse people, primarily within the state of Victoria. The organization's program portfolio includes Outreach Support (community-based contact and referral), Beyond Bricks & Bars (post-prison transition support), Beyond Survival (therapeutic and practical support), and the Family Violence Justice Project (systemic reform work). The FIGJAM collective operates as a peer-led sub-brand within the organization.

The organization is funded through a mix of Victorian state government grants, philanthropic donations, and program-specific grants. It employs approximately 45 staff. Its business model is grant-funded service delivery combined with policy and advocacy activity, with no commercial revenue, no paid consumer pricing, and no technology product surface. Recent organizational activity includes release of a 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and an imminent CEO transition flagged in February 2026 communications.

There is no technology platform or AI/ML component to the operating model; service delivery is human-relationship-intensive and depends on lived-experience expertise and government/justice-system partnerships. The customer base is effectively the Victorian government as primary funder plus a donor and grant-funder base, with end beneficiaries being criminalized women, trans, and gender diverse people across Victoria.

Name

Flat Out Inc.

Legal name

Flat Out Inc.

Website

https://flatout.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Flat Out Inc. is a Melbourne-based non-profit founded in 1988 that delivers advocacy, direct support services, and systemic reform work for criminalized women and trans/gender diverse people in Victoria, Australia, funded primarily by the Victorian government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Justice Advocacy Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Disability Rights & Accessibility Advocacy (BPAGAFAF)

Keywords

• Criminal justice advocacy
• Decarceration support
• Prison outreach services
• Post-release assistance
• Family violence advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Core operational funding from Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, and project-specific funding from various government sources including Family Safety Victoria. Government funding supports individualized support and advocacy for criminalized women with or without children.
2. Donations and Grants: Independent funding raised through donations, grants, and grassroots fundraising for social change, systemic advocacy work, and specific programs.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of merchandise to support organizational funding, with donations over $2 being tax deductible.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Flat Out Inc. is a not-for-profit community-based advocacy and support organisation delivering statewide outreach support and advocacy to criminalised women, trans and gender diverse people (and their children) across Victoria, Australia. Services include prison outreach, post-release coordination (housing, material aid, family violence, AOD, mental health, disability), legal assistance through partner community legal centres, research and policy reform advocacy, and peer-led lived-experience programs through the FIGJAM collective. All services are free to recipients.

Product overview

Flat Out Inc. is a not-for-profit community-based advocacy and support organisation — not a technology company with a commercial product portfolio. It operates a suite of interconnected advocacy programs and publishes research resources. Its four core programs are: (1) Outreach Support and Advocacy Program — providing statewide individualised support for criminalised women, trans and gender diverse people; (2) Beyond Bricks & Bars — a trans community-led decarceration project for trans and gender diverse people in or at risk of prison; (3) Beyond Survival: Family Violence & Policing — responding to police accountability issues and harms related to family violence policing; and (4) Family Violence Justice Project — improving service system accessibility for criminalised women experiencing family violence. These programs are supplemented by published resources including reports (Stigma, Discrimination and the Weaponisation of Survival; Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons; Harm in the Name of Safety), educational resources (Introduction to Criminalisation and Family Violence; Reflective Practice Tool), the FIGJAM sub-brand collective, a newsletter series, and the Untold Stories of Injustice podcast. The organisation also maintains a donations and merchandise page.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beyond Bricks & Bars: A trans-led, peer-led, community decarceration project that provides direct support to trans and gender diverse people in prison, at risk of incarceration and those returning to their communities from prison.
• Beyond Survival: Family Violence & Policing
• Family Violence Justice Project
• FIGJAM (Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne)

Products and services

• Outreach Support and Advocacy Program Statewide individualised outreach support and advocacy for women, trans and gender diverse people who have been criminalised, assisting with housing, alcohol and other drugs, family violence, child protection, mental health, and disability.
• Beyond Bricks & Bars A trans community-led decarceration project providing direct support to trans and gender diverse people in prison, at risk of incarceration, and those returning to their communities, including peer-based social work, counselling, legal support, and post-release assistance.
• Beyond Survival: Family Violence & Policing A project responding to police accountability issues, duty failures, and harms related to family violence policing, providing legal assistance, social work support, and a narrative therapy storytelling project for victim-survivors of family violence and policing harms.
• Family Violence Justice Project A project piloting improved accessibility and responsiveness of the service system for criminalised women experiencing family violence, working across professional education, community development, policy and advocacy, and data and evaluation.
• FIGJAM Collective A collective of formerly incarcerated women, trans and gender diverse folks who engage in advocacy, consultancy, research, public speaking, policy reform, and creative arts activities to change community attitudes and push through barriers of stigma and discrimination.

Quantifiable outcome

• 428 women currently incarcerated in Victoria with 198 unsentenced (March 2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FIGJAM (Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIGJAM is a collective of formerly incarcerated women, trans and gender diverse folks. Members are paid for their expertise and contribute to research, policy reform, consultancy, public speaking, conferences, community events, submissions, and media engagements. They are core partners in advocacy work and the Family Violence Justice Project.
• Safe and EqualcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create resources about supporting criminalised women experiencing family violence. Created a tip sheet and poster as critical reflection tools for family violence practitioners working with criminalised women.
• The Police Accountability ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated within Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre, takes lead in police accountability law and strategies. Integrated project partner in the Policing Family Violence: Changing the Story project.
• St Kilda Legal ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides free and accessible access to justice for people experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage. Integrated project partner in the Policing Family Violence project.
• The Law & Advocacy Centre for WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal practice for women combining legal advice and representation with holistic case management. Integrated project partner; collaborated on Intersections report and Policing Family Violence project.
• Inner Melbourne Community LegalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNot-for-profit providing free legal assistance to disadvantaged people in City of Melbourne area. Integrated project partner in Policing Family Violence project.
• University of MelbourneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Stigma, Discrimination and the Weaponisation of Survival report examining intersection between child protection and criminal legal systems.
• Switchboard VictoriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in developing the Reflective Practice Tool for family violence practitioners supporting victim survivors who do not view police as a safe option.
• inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family ViolenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in developing the Reflective Practice Tool for family violence practitioners supporting victim survivors who do not view police as a safe option.
• Elizabeth Morgan HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in developing the Reflective Practice Tool for family violence practitioners. Also collaborated on the Stigma, Discrimination and the Weaponisation of Survival report.
• Human Rights Law CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons report and submission to Australian Law Reform Commission on state-perpetrated sexual violence in prisons.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Switchboard Victoria: LGBTIQ+ community-led organization providing peer support, counselling, and advocacy. Partner with Flat Out on the Reflective Practice Tool and overlapping work with trans and gender diverse victim-survivors.
• Women's Legal Service Victoria: Specialist community legal centre providing legal advice, representation, and policy advocacy for women in Victoria. Board member Lara Freidin's prior affiliation and overlapping client base make it a direct operational peer.
• inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence: Victorian specialist family-violence service for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Partner with Flat Out on the Reflective Practice Tool and overlapping work with criminalized victim-survivors of family violence.
• Elizabeth Morgan House: Aboriginal women's family-violence service providing specialist support across Victoria. Co-author with Flat Out on 'Stigma, Discrimination and the Weaponisation of Survival' and partner on practitioner tools.
• Human Rights Law Centre: National human-rights legal advocacy organization that co-publishes research with Flat Out (e.g., 'Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons'). Overlapping criminal-justice and policing-accountability work makes it a closely aligned peer.
• Justice Connect: National social-justice organization providing legal services, capacity-building for NFPs, and pro-bono support. Comparable scale and operating model as a community-justice NFP with multiple program streams.
• Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT): Community-controlled legal and advocacy organization for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Comparable criminal-legal-system advocacy and frontline service model, addressing over-incarceration that also affects Flat Out's clientele.
• Sisters Inside: Queensland-based advocacy and support organization for criminalized women and girls. Sister organization to Flat Out with comparable direct-service and policy-reform mission, providing a clear national peer for benchmarking impact and reach.
• Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN): NSW-based advocacy organization supporting women affected by the criminal legal system through mentoring, policy work, and reintegration services. Direct functional peer for post-release support and advocacy in an adjacent Australian jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria: Peak body representing Victoria's community legal centres, including Flat Out's partners. Provides sector-wide policy and advocacy infrastructure, functioning as a broader incumbent that shapes the operating environment Flat Out works within.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/beyondbricksbars
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flat-out-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Flat Out Inc.