Section A: Family Safety Victoria as WoVG lead
Family Safety Victoria supports consistent and collaborative practice by developing and publishing whole-of-system practice guidance and resources for all MARAM-prescribed organisations and services. This guidance can be tailored to individual workforces, as required.
MARAM practice guidance
Child and young person-focused MARAM practice guides
Family Safety Victoria is developing the Child and young person-focused MARAM practice guides and tools.
These are for direct risk and wellbeing assessment of children and young people who are victim survivors. They also support identifying and responding to young people using family violence or harm in the home and in intimate partner/dating relationships.
This new practice guidance will support workforces to respond to children and young people with a trauma and violence-informed, and age and developmental stage lens. Family Safety Victoria has partnered with a range of experts to develop and test the new practice guidance.[7]
In 2022–23, 41 consultation sessions were held with more than 500 professionals in MARAM-prescribed workforces who work with diverse cohorts.
To contribute to this work, Family Safety Victoria engaged key academics to undertake research projects. on essential questions of practice or evidence.[8]
The Child and young person-focused MARAM practice guides will be released in 2024.
MARAMIS video series project
In 2022, the MARAMIS video series project created accessible and engaging video content to highlight key concepts and practice from the MARAM practice guidance. The project was in response to sector feedback.
The videos are in two styles:
- animations exploring short, sharp specific topics
- roleplays showing longer scenes between a practitioner and client.[9]
In the 2022–23 MARAM Annual Survey, out of the 361 respondents who had viewed the resources, 79 per cent and 73 per cent respectively found the MARAM animation series and MARAM roleplay series either highly or somewhat useful.
Adolescent family violence in the home model of care
In January 2023, alongside the state-wide rollout of the Adolescent Family Violence in the Home (AFVITH) program, Family Safety Victoria implemented a new model of care within the program.
The model outlines an evidence-based, end-to-end user journey to support early intervention for young people using violence in the home and their families.
The AFVITH model of care embeds MARAM risk assessment and risk management as one of the five core components of the model.
Child and young person-focused MARAM practice guides will also support best practice in responding to young people using family violence, as well as responding to children and young people as victim survivors in their own right.
Embedding MARAM tools in online systems
At the end of June 2023, MARAM tools supporting risk assessment and safety planning were embedded in three online systems:
- Tools for Risk Assessment and Management (TRAM), which is used by practitioners in The Orange Door for risk assessment and a select number of specialist family violence and generalist agencies for risk assessment and safety planning
- The Orange Door Client Relationship Management (CRM) system, which is used by practitioners in The Orange Door for safety planning
- Specialist Homelessness Information Platform and Service Record System (SHIP), which is used by specialist family violence and homelessness services for risk assessment and safety planning.
The Adults Using Family Violence (AUFV) Comprehensive Assessment Tool supports specialist practitioners to undertake comprehensive risk assessment when working with an adult using family violence. It was released for TRAM in October 2022 and released for use in The Orange Door from July 2023.
The Predominant Aggressor Identification Tool enables professionals to accurately identify the perpetrator/predominant aggressor and respond safely to misidentification when it occurs. It was released for TRAM for agency use in April 2023. We expect to release this tool for The Orange Door, and it will be available for use in SHIP by early 2024.
Figure 9: Data highlights 2022–23
Table 3: Number of MARAM risk assessments and safety plans undertaken by The Orange Door since commencement (using TRAM and the CRM)
| 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Comprehensive Risk Assessment | 4,417 | 5,879 | 9,343 | 17,945 | 24,312 | 61,896 |
| Child Risk Assessment | 942 | 958 | 2,408 | 6,050 | 9,480 | 19,838 |
| Safety Plan | 3,399 | 6,123 | 8,797 | 15,790 | 21,325 | 55,434 |
| Total | 8,758 | 12,960 | 20,548 | 39,785 | 55,117 | 137,168 |
Family Safety Victoria will continue to add MARAM tools and improve these systems for new organisations and services as appropriate. This includes the child and young-person focused MARAM wellbeing and risk tools.
Section B: Departments as portfolio leads
Department of Education
Information sharing and family violence reforms guidance and toolkit
This guidance supports the education and care workforces affected by the MARAM reforms.
It complements the training sessions and eLearning modules for centre-based education and care services, schools, system and statutory bodies; the department’s health, wellbeing and inclusion workforces; and its corporate workforces.
It is designed to be used with the legally binding CISS Ministerial Guidelines and FVISS Ministerial Guidelines.
Response to the Early identification of family violence within universal services report
During the reporting period, the department responded to the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor’s recommendation to update guidance around school transitions.
These actions ensure that family violence risk information is consistently communicated during transition from early childhood settings to primary school, and from primary school to secondary school.
Work included:
- adding guidance on CISS and FVISS to the Transition: a positive start to school resource kit. This kit is for early childhood professionals working with children and families while they transition to school
- adding guidance on CISS and FVISS to the transition to school professional development for early childhood and Foundation teachers
- updating and inserting questions on family violence in the department’s School Entrant Health Questionnaire (SEHQ) to better align with MARAM. SEHQ is for parents to record concerns and observations about their child’s health and wellbeing as they begin primary school.
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
Child and young person wellbeing assessment tool pilot
The Orange Door developed a state-wide child and young person wellbeing assessment tool pilot, in collaboration with The Orange Door staff, Family Services, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CFECFW) and the department.
The tool is being trialled in six Orange Door sites. It will be incorporated into a risk and wellbeing assessment for children and young people.
CFECFW has been funded for two years to boost capability in assessing child and young person wellbeing. This includes on-site support, the development of practice guides and webinars.
CIP expansion
In November 2022, the department expanded CIP to Safe Steps and Men's Referral Service as a phased rollout in line with the Royal Commission's recommendation.
This supports the intake and high-risk service responses of the family violence system.
Revised Homelessness and housing support guidelines
The revised guidelines replace the 2014 Homelessness services guidelines and conditions of funding. They build on the COVID-19 amendment to the guidance published in 2021.
They guidelines promote consistent application of the MARAM Framework by:
- reinforcing the obligation of government-funded homelessness organisations to comply with the Family Violence Protection Act 2008
- outlining the pillars and principles that underpin the MARAM Framework and intersections with the CISS and FVISS
- assisting homelessness organisational leaders to understand which of the 10 MARAM practice responsibilities apply to their organisation
- highlighting the responsibilities for risk assessment and management held by homelessness organisations
- providing references to sector-specific resources, practice guides, templates, tools, and training to promote workforce access to learning opportunities.
The inclusion of this comprehensive overview of MARAM in the updated guidelines will promote consistent application of the framework across the state-funded homelessness service system. The guidelines are currently under review and will be published in late 2023.
Easy English and multilingual fact sheets
The department released easy English and multilingual factsheets in 2022–23.
The factsheets outline the MARAMIS reforms to support people from multicultural communities accessing the department’s services. They were tested through an external consumer testing workshop to ensure they were fit for purpose.
The fact sheets are translated into six commonly used languages including Dinka, Somali, Simplified Chinese, Oromo, Arabic, Vietnamese, as well as easy English.
Department of Government Services
In 2022–23, the Department of Government Services (DGS) continued to embed MARAM in ongoing practice. This included:
- working with funded agencies to map co-location of Financial Counselling Program (FCP) and Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP) in The Orange Door network to improve information sharing and holistic support for victim survivors
- secondary consultations between staff from DGS agencies and specialist family violence services
- providing community education to services including mental health services, Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs), the Salvation Army and homelessness services
- working closely with DSCV to develop risk-screening procedures and a risk identification tool
- collaborating with Tenants Victoria to establish a TAAP community of practice
- developing tools including:
- the MARAM screening and identification flow chart
- a safety plan template for non-specialist workforces
- Family violence information sharing practice toolkit to build on the training and address gaps in practice knowledge.
Department of Health
In 2022–23, the Department of Health continued to support MARAM practice across all health workforces. This included:
- dedicated project funding for 26 public hospitals and health services to implement the SHRFV initiative and provide mentoring and support to other public health services across Victoria in a hub and spoke model
- funding for The Royal Women’s Hospital and Bendigo Health – the State-wide Lead (Metropolitan Sector) and State-wide Lead (Regional Sector) respectively – to embed MARAM and MARAMIS in whole-of-hospital responses to family violence
- securing funding under the National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses 2021–23. This funding enabled The Royal Women’s Hospital, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, to undertake three projects to support health services to identify and respond to family violence. These include:
- developing sustainable antenatal family violence screening for women who do not speak English
- evaluating the SHRFV program
- implementing and evaluating family violence clinical champions (who support staff responding to family violence) and contact officers (who support staff experiencing family violence) across six health services
- developing guidance for health organisations about seeking secondary consultations in relation to family violence. The guidance was recommended by the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor in its May 2022 report on the early identification of family violence within universal services.
Department of Justice and Community Safety
During the reporting period, the Department of Justice and Community Safety continued to implement and embed MARAM practice throughout its workforces. This included:
- the Family Violence Restorative Justice service continuing to use TRAM
- the Victims of Crime Helpline developing bespoke MARAM-aligned risk assessment tools and training for use with male victims of family violence. This includes predominant aggressor tools
- reviewing the Community Correctional Services (CCS) practice guidelines to further incorporate MARAM concepts and strengthen case management practice
- a mapping exercise of the journey for people subject to CCS supervision and those in custody to understand how and when MARAM will be implemented and integrated into the corrections system
- a mapping exercise to map central business units, CCS and prison workforces against the 10 MARAM responsibilities
- funding for Caraniche Forensic Youth Service to conduct comprehensive clinical and forensic risk assessments to identify risk factors and treatment needs of young people
- producing an FAQ document that provides Youth Justice staff with guidance on the proper use of the L17 Portal
- MARAM victim survivor screening for young people upon Youth Justice intake. If the screen indicates that family violence is present, a full MARAM assessment is completed.
The courts
The courts undertook a range of MARAM-related activities in 2022–23, including:
- expanding the Remote Hearing Support Service to 11 courts across Victoria. This provides increased accessibility and safety for victim survivors
- trialling a Central Family Violence Practitioner team at the Magistrates’ Court
- establishing the Koori Family Violence Online Support Service to support Koori men and women using or experiencing family violence.
Victoria Police
Consistent and collaborative practice is supported through a range of improvement activities. MARAM related activities completed in 2022–23 include:
- collaborating with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing through the Vulnerable Children’s Committee to improve processes related to DFFH intakes
- updating the Code of Practice for the Investigation of Family Violence. The Code of Practice is an external document for the community to find out about the roles and responsibilities of Victoria Police, and how police respond to reports of family violence
- working with key partners to roll out a trial to identify improvements to Victoria Police policy and practice, to reduce the impact of misidentification of predominant aggressor
- developing clear and intuitive information sharing processes and guidance in consultation with agencies prescribed through MARAM
- improving data collection processes to enable a holistic understanding around engagement practices for Family Violence Training Officers, who maintain strong collaborative relationships with frontline members and external stakeholders within their regions, particularly with The Orange Door.
The Code of Practice is an external document for the community to find out about the roles and responsibilities of Victoria Police, and how police respond to reports of family violence.
Information sharing
Information sharing is an indicator of consistent and collaborative practice. This section outlines information sharing demand and activity for departments that centrally collected FVISS and CISS data in the 2022–23 reporting period.
Available data suggests information sharing is increasing over time. It shows:
- there is an increase in family violence being identified
- practitioners are gaining confidence in multiagency collaboration
- MARAM and related information sharing reforms are progressing and maturing
- the impact of prescribing additional workforces in April 2021, and the continued training and capability building activities that have occurred over 2022–23.
It should be noted that there is no legal requirement to collect FVISS and CISS data. Data that is available is from departments with the ability to collect central information. For those that do, this section outlines information-sharing demand and activity in the 2022–23 reporting period.
Table 4: 2022–23 information sharing requests received by department.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFFH Child Protection | 1,309 | 1,181 | 1,327 | 1,539 | 5,356 |
| DJCS Corrections Victoria | 2,475 | 2,960 | 3,987 | 4,761 | 14,183 |
| The courts | 11.249 | 11,791 | 13,431 | 13,073 | 49,544 |
| Victoria Police | 1,905 | 1,808 | 2,020 | 1,518 | 7,251 |
| Total[10] | 16,938 | 17,740 | 20,765 | 20,891 | 76,334 |
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing – Child Protection
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s Information Sharing Team (IST) receives information sharing requests under the FVISS and CISS. The team completes responses on closed child protection cases. Consolidated data in Table 4 shows the number of information sharing requests received by Child Protection in 2022–23.
Victoria Police, specialist family violence services and hospitals made the most frequent requests for information sharing about family violence in 2022–23. This continues the trend from 2021–22.
Overall:
- IST received 47 per cent more FVISS and CISS requests compared with 2021–22
- requests increased throughout the year, with Q4 2022–23 receiving 78 per cent more FVISS and 67 per cent more CISS requests than in Q1
- other (non-CISS or FVISS) requests rapidly declined by 82 per cent from Q1 to Q4 2022–23. This followed the launch of a new case management system that streamlined processes and improved data accuracy (discussed in the ‘Continuous improvement’ section).
Requests declined and proactive shares
A total of 260 information sharing requests were declined in the 2022–23 financial year. This was because they did not meet FVISS or CISS thresholds, or the request did not have enough detail to be assessed.
If a request does not have enough information, the IST liaises with the requestor to obtain additional information. If a request cannot be responded to under FVISS or CISS, appropriate referrals are considered, for example to the Freedom of Information team or another ISE.
In 2022–23, the IST proactively shared relevant information on 115 occasions.
The data shows that the team has proactively shared information on more individuals under CISS than FVISS. This is potentially due to the broader nature of the CISS thresholds (that is, child protection clients are all children) compared with FVISS thresholds.
Continuous improvement
In October 2022, the IST transitioned to a new case management system. This streamlined previously manual administrative processes, improved data accuracy and reporting, and mitigated risk in relation to the processing and storing of sensitive client information.
The new system also standardises ISEs’ requests for child protection information and migrates historical records.
The new case management system helped to reduce the number of non-compliant FVISS and CISS requests, demonstrated by the rapid decline in ‘Other’ requests in Table 4.
The IST also commenced a project in February 2023 to strengthen information sharing practices within the department and promote further alignment with MARAM.
The project supports the use of FVISS and CISS in conjunction with other information sharing pathways. It promotes better understanding of information sharing responsibilities and provides practical supports, resources and other tools for staff.
Department of Justice and Community Safety
Corrections and Justice Services respond to FVISS requests via two teams:
- the FVISS team in Corrections Victoria (CV), which responds to CV and CCS relevant requests
- Justice Health, which responds to health information requests for people in custody.
During 2022–23, FVISS requests in CV and CCS significantly increased. In 2022–23, there was a 129 per cent increase, with 745 requests in July 2022 increasing to 1,705 requests in June 2023.
This may be due to: organisations maturing in their FVISS implementation and operation; expansion of The Orange Doors and RAMPs; uncertainty in other legislative schemes; and The Orange Door requesting information directly from CV, mitigating delays from requests made through the CIP.
Consolidated data in Table 4 shows the number of information sharing requests received by CV and CCS under FVISS for the 2022–23 financial year.
Requests declined and proactive shares
CCS continues to reinforce proactive sharing of risk relevant information with external service providers. CCS encourages staff to gather relevant information using the scheme, for example L17 narratives to better understand family violence risk towards victim survivors.
CCS also regularly discusses privacy issues with staff to ensure they consider the limitations in relation to information sharing.
Continuous improvement
Victim Services Support and Reform (VSSR) is improving information sharing approaches and strengthening referral pathways with key stakeholders and partner agencies.
VSSR and Family Safety Victoria have developed interim guidance to support the interface between The Orange Door sites and VSSR.
VSSR has also established a memorandum of understanding with Thorne Harbour Health to strengthen referral pathways for male victim survivors of family violence.
The Victims of Crime Helpline is the main referral pathway for Victoria Police referrals (L17s) for adult males (17 years and over) identified as victims of family violence during a family violence incident.
The Helpline also plays a central role in identifying and assessing predominant aggressors. Reassessing misidentified victim survivors occurs mainly through the FVISS and CISS.
The FVISS and CISS enables the Helpline to share information to correctly identify the victim survivor and perpetrator.
The courts
The number of FVISS and CISS requests received by the courts increased in 2022–23. The courts received 49,544 FVISS/CISS requests in 2022–23, an increase of more than 44 per cent since 2021–22. 49,396 requests were under FVISS (99.7 per cent), and 148 requests were under CISS (0.3 per cent). This included 25,305 (55 per cent) requests from The Orange Door network and 13,341 (44 per cent) requests from Child Protection.
The remaining 22 per cent of FVISS requests came from specialist family violence service providers including Safe Steps and community-based organisations.
This increase reflects the essential role the courts play in information sharing, as well as the value of the information courts hold for the purpose of risk assessment and management.
Continuous improvement
In response to this increase in demand, the courts commenced a project to develop a portal to automate functions for ISEs and court staff. This project will help the courts provide a timely response to requests for information by:
- allowing ISEs to lodge and track applications through a web-based portal
- allowing for direct communication with Central Information Sharing Team from within the portal
- automatically generating data on the volume and nature of requests for reporting purposes.
The courts also commenced in-depth consultations with partner agencies that support Drug Court participants. This process will determine best practice for risk assessment, information sharing and management responsibilities.
Victoria Police
Victoria Police continues to lead under FVISS/CISS by developing clear and intuitive information sharing processes and sharing guidance with other agencies to encourage consistency across the service system.
Continuous improvement
To improve capability and ensure requests from ISEs have enough information to meet Victoria Police’s thresholds for sharing under the FVISS/CISS, the organisation presented training sessions for social work professionals, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services, psychologists, alcohol and drug counsellors and child protection professionals.
To complement this training, Victoria Police is also developing an instructional video for ISEs on how to submit a valid request under FVISS/CISS. This video will be circulated to The Orange Door and other ISEs to strengthen their requests to Victoria Police.
The increase in voluntary sharing in this reporting period is possibly due to a pilot program being run through the Proactive Policing Unit (PPU).
Section C: Sectors as lead
- The MARAM Sector Grants Multicultural Consortium of Whittlesea Community Connections (WCC), AMES Australia and Jewish Care Victoria established a community of practice for bilingual practitioners in the multicultural community and settlement sectors. Members reported increased knowledge about the MARAM Framework and Information Sharing Schemes and better collaboration. They viewed the group as a safe platform for reflective practice and debriefing.
- Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) uses the Basecamp tool to facilitate collaboration between MARAM Sector Capacity Building Grants recipients. This tool has improved communication, allowing recipients to discuss lessons learned, promote and strengthen collaboration, and share resources. CHP plans to further explore its functionality, using it for ongoing discussions, deadline coordination and individual working groups.
- NTV’s Family Safety Advocate (FSA) community of practice delivered nine sessions in 2022–23, with an average of 10 attendees. These sessions built confidence in MARAM practice concepts and alignment.
- VHA collaborated with the CFECFW and VAADA to facilitate a MARAMIS webinar and information session to members of all three peak bodies, with 126 practitioners in attendance.
Case study: alcohol and drug service
Sarah* was an AOD practitioner providing AOD counselling to Joshua* to explore his substance use. After about two weeks, she became concerned Joshua was using family violence.
Joshua had talked about calling his partner, Hayley*, names, yelling at her and putting her down. He disclosed constantly looking through her phone, following her car and blaming Hayley for his behaviour.
Sarah was experienced in working with victim survivors of family violence, and familiar with the MARAM guidance and tools for adults using violence, but she needed some support to understand her observations.
Sarah sought a secondary consultation with her agency’s Specialist Family Violence Advisor (SFVA).
The SFVA supported her to use the MARAM adults using violence assessment tool to better understand Joshua’s violence and the risk to Hayley.
The SFVA also gave Sarah advice on ways to continue exploring Joshua’s use of family violence and substance use in their counselling sessions.
This helped Sarah to talk to Joshua about his behaviour in a non-confrontational, respectful, and cautious manner.
Sarah continued seeking advice from the SFVA about the level of risk and whether she needed to share information, and how to develop a MARAM safety plan for people using violence with Joshua.
The safety plan included protective factors, risk factors, and who Joshua could call for support.
Sarah was able to maintain a professional relationship with Joshua, keep him in view and hold him to account as a person using violence.
She was also able to keep Hayley’s safety in view by regularly reviewing the safety plan with Joshua and keeping in touch with the SFVA.
*case study is a fictitious example of MARAM safety planning in AOD work
Summary of progress
Embedding consistent and collaborative practice is crucial to supporting victim survivors’ safety and keeping perpetrators in view.
All departments have embedded practice by developing additional resources to support workforces to consistently assess and manage family violence risk, and to collaborate effectively.
The Five-year legislative review of MARAM, FVISS and the CIP showed that MARAM and the associated information sharing reforms have been effective in driving cultural change.
This includes supporting practitioner confidence to share information, and a positive cultural shift away from maintaining perpetrator privacy towards sharing information to keep victim survivors safe and holding perpetrators accountable.
By increasing services’ access to relevant information under MARAM, practitioners are making more informed decisions about family violence risk.
Throughout the reporting period, departments reported significant growth in information sharing requests and, to a lesser extent, proactive information sharing.
This shows that collaboration between sectors is continuing to grow alongside embedding of MARAM practice and the information sharing schemes.
References and footnotes
[7] Partners include Monash University, RMIT University, Safe and Equal, The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA), Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service and Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS).
[8] This includes: RMIT’s Adolescents using family violence (AFV) MARAM practice guidance project 2022: review of the evidence base; Monash University’s I believe you report and Young people’s experiences of identity abuse in the context of family violence: A Victorian study; and Swinburne University and Safe and Equal, who will design identification and assessment tools that will be incorporated into the final Child and young person-focused MARAM practice guides and tools.
[9] VAADA, NTV, Safe and Equal and Elizabeth Morgan House supported the development of the roleplay videos.
[10] Totals represented may include duplicate entries of information sharing requests received between departments.
Updated