Family Safety Victoria
Key WoVG priorities for 2023–24 for Family Safety Victoria include:
- piloting completed MARAM AUFV intermediate and comprehensive training packages, ahead of delivery in January 2024. NTV will deliver the training to workforces in either fully facilitated training delivery or hybrid sessions of eLearn plus partly facilitated training
- funding a two-year pilot program to reduce the use and impact of family violence on former, current, or future partners and family members of serious-risk perpetrators of family violence
- continuing to develop the child and young person-focused practice guidance and tools, including consultation and user testing, to release 2024
- testing and embedding the Maturity Model resources with stakeholders through workshops and communities of practice, to release mid 2024
- finalising the first 5-year evidence review for MARAM, for release early 2024
- developing a plan to implement the recommendations of the review of the MARAM legislation and five-year evidence review.
Department of Education
Key priorities for 2023–24 for the Department of Education include:
- continuing to deliver the Respectful Relationships whole-school approach to more than 1,950 Victorian government, Catholic and independent schools
- the Respectful Relationships Professional Learning for Early Childhood Educators, which will continue to be offered between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024
- developing an identification tool for any early childhood service staff to record information after receiving a disclosure of family violence, or record observations that indicate a child or young person is experiencing family violence
- developing tools for nominated staff to ask family violence screening questions, undertake safety planning, contribute to coordinated risk management and collaborate for ongoing risk assessment and management
- engaging with ACIL Allen to conduct an independent evaluation of the department’s implementation of MARAM. The findings, to be delivered in 2024, will be used to inform future program policy and budget direction, including further activities that may enhance MARAM implementation and strengthen intended outcomes.
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
Over the next reporting period, key priorities for the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing include:
- developing tailored multicultural MARAM guidelines to increase engagement with multicultural and multifaith communities
- supporting change management actions to align to MARAM through the upcoming MARAM Maturity Model
- delivering a new memorandum of understanding between Housing and Victoria Police to support the public housing workforce with information sharing protocols under the Supporting Safer and Productive Communities project
- piloting the future treatment program schedules for Forensic Disability Service clients who, due to their cognitive disability, experience barriers to accessing mainstream family violence services
- MARAM-focused amendments to the Secure Care Services manual intake and admissions documents will be incorporated into the Client Relationship and Information System (CRIS)-based Referral and Brief Behaviour Support Plan (BBSP).
- supporting state-wide operational guidance for The Orange Door using feedback received on the AUFV practice direction. This will include guidance documents including:
- predominant aggressor identification and misidentification
- safety planning with adults using family violence
- risk coordination and management
- developing state-wide operational guidance for The Orange Door on engaging with children and young people.
Department of Government Services
Key priorities for the Department of Government Services in 2023–24 include:
- establishing a departmental MARAM Governance Working Group to support MARAM implementation and alignment across all prescribed business units and support funded agencies to maintain alignment with the MARAM Framework
- family violence training for Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP) professionals and refresher training for the FCP workforce in the second half of 2023
- working with Women's Legal Service Victoria (WLSV) to review and update training contents tailored to the role of tenancy advocates and financial counsellors to target gaps in the Financial Counselling Program (FCP) and TAAP skillset
- working closely with the Department of Justice and Community Safety MARAM Training team to tailor contents of the working safely with perpetrators training to the FCP and TAAP workforces
- a review into funded agencies’ use of available resources and tools to identify gaps and provide support for developing tools and resources
- Family Safety Victoria’s working with perpetrator and adolescent practice guidance will be summarised and tailored for Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV), FCP and TAAP staff
- WLSV will deliver refresher training and scenario-based interactive workshops to the FCP and TAAP workforce.
Department of Health
Planned Department of Health activities for 2023–24 include:
- dedicated project funding for eight public health services to implement Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence (SHRFV) and provide mentoring and support to other public health services across Victoria in a restructured ‘Regional Lead’ hub and spoke model
- supporting the SHRFV Statewide Leads to create standardised information sharing protocols and guidance for public hospitals and health services
- funding for the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CFECFW) to deliver 72 face-to-face online and interactive tailored MARAM training sessions for health workforces
- manager training workshops delivered by Free From Family Violence (FVREE), the lead specialist family violence service in Eastern Metropolitan Melbourne, to increase the capability of people managers to sensitively respond to staff disclosures of family violence
- an evaluation of the additional family violence visit for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) has also been undertaken by the Centre for Evaluation and Research.
Department of Justice and Community Safety
Key Department of Justice and Community Safety priorities for 2023–24 include:
- VSSR will continue to support Victims of Crime Helpline, FVRJ and VAPs, with a primary focus on adult person using violence implementation and training
- Youth Justice, with the support of the FVMH Branch, will progress the Youth Justice MARAM Sector Support Project to strengthen MARAM alignment and practices of its funded programs through sector-specific capability uplift
- Intermediate MARAM training, as well as screening and identification MARAM training, will be delivered to Youth Justice community and custodial workforces
- CCS will complete the update of the CCS MARAM eLearn and implement the new version to staff who have not yet undertaken this training
- CCS will introduce the victim survivor training to its workforce, starting with training rollout to its leadership teams
- continue to develop, review and configure tools and guidance documentation across all areas of CJS, in preparation for their implementation
- complete the journey map for the entire corrections system, including CCS
- through contract managers, engage with CJS-funded service providers, to ensure MARAM alignment requirements are met.
The courts
Key courts priorities for 2023–24 include:
- courts will complete their implementation of the victim survivor tools and focus on the implementation of the adults using violence (AUV) and identification of the predominant aggressor tools and guidance
- in preparation for the release of the Courts Information Sharing (CIS) Portal, courts will develop a stakeholder engagement plan for sector and peak bodies that provides direction and guidance on the use of the new solution. Courts will also make user guides available on the CIS Portal website and will develop a short presentation for delivery to peak groups and regional implementation committees on information sharing in courts, and the CIS Portal
- capability development focused on intersectional approaches to understanding and managing family violence risk, with the preparation of bespoke training packages for courts workforces:
- a specific package for Koori Family Violence Practitioners on the topic of understanding and responding to family violence risk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (developed in partnership with the Koori Family Violence Principal Practitioner)
- a package of training that explores the intersectional impacts of family violence on victim survivors / Affected Family Members (AFMs) from culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTIQA+ and First Nations backgrounds, to enable mainstream practitioners to support these clients. This package was developed in consultation with the Koori Family Violence Principal Practitioner and LGBTIQA+ Practice Manager.
Victoria Police
Key Victoria Police priorities for 2023-24 include:
- information technology – enhancing platforms to support decision making at all stages of the family violence response
- training and practice – strengthening the accurate identification of the predominant aggressor through police training and establish clear authorisation pathways for rectifying and remedying misidentification when it occurs
- Policing harm, upholding the right: strategy for family violence, sexual offences and child abuse (2018–2023) – this strategy is in its final year of operation. This strategy was the first of its kind to bring together police responses to family violence, sexual offences and child abuse. A refreshed organisational direction will be developed to ensure continued alignment with the Victorian Government reform agenda.
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