The family violence system is integrated

Indicator: Increased sharing of information to assess and respond to needs and risks

Having a shared understanding supports successful system integration. This includes having workforces who understand their responsibilities to identify and respond to family violence. It also means having an accessible, equitable and effective system response.

The Central Information Point is one way we are increasing collaboration between services through information sharing.

The Central Information Point is a targeted, cross-government information sharing service. It aims to improve access to risk-relevant information to support victim survivors.

It also helps to keep those who use violence in view and more accountable for their actions. The Central Information Point consolidates critical information about a perpetrator into a single report. This assists with family violence risk assessment and management.

Central Information Point reports enable family violence frontline workers, such as at The Orange Door and Risk Assessment and Management Panels, to access information about a perpetrator. Sources include Court Services Victoria, Victoria Police, Corrections Victoria and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (Child Protection).

Information provided through the Central Information Point also allows victim survivors to be more empowered to make decisions about their safety and increases accountability of perpetrators for their decisions and actions.

Measure: Number of Central Information Point reports provided to services

The Central Information Point continues to respond to demand from The Orange Door in existing areas and as the network expands across Victoria. The number of Central Information Point reports delivered annually has increased from 2,902 in 2018–9 to 4,027 in 2020–21 (a 39 per cent increase).

The difference between the number of requests received and the reports delivered is due to a number of administrative processes.

These include the request being cancelled or withdrawn. This may occur if a Central Information Point report has recently been delivered for the same perpetrator, and the practitioner already has access to that information.

A request may also be withdrawn or cancelled if it is incomplete or inaccurate and a new request is submitted.