Support and Safety Hubs in the 17 Department of Health and Human Services regions

Family Safety Victoria (FSV) in collaboration with government, peak bodies and partner agencies, has completed the rollout of The Orange Door network across the state.

The Orange Door network is a new way for women, children and young people experiencing family violence and families in need of support with the care, wellbeing and development of children and young people to access the support they need. It replaces existing access points for victim survivors and perpetrators of family violence (including L17 police incident reports) and children and families in need of support (Child FIRST).

Implementing The Orange Door network across Victoria is a large scale, transformational reform that requires sustained effort and a significant investment. As part of the 2017/18 State Budget, $448.1 million was allocated over four years to establish The Orange Door network. Ongoing funding is now in place as areas become operational, and The Orange Door network is embedded in the service system.

The Orange Door network has been established in each of the 17 Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) areas. Family Safety Victoria have worked in close partnership with agencies partnering in The Orange Door network and other stakeholders to establish the governance, workforce and operational arrangements and ensure that the state-wide service model is appropriately tailored to the local area context.

This phased establishment of The Orange Door network has ensured that lessons from implementation and operational experience informed the state-wide rollout. Operational enhancements are continuing and are informed by the evidence of what works. The design of The Orange Door network will continue to develop alongside reforms across the service system.

The Orange Door network is now operational in all 17 DFFH areas: Bayside Peninsula, North-Eastern Melbourne, Inner Gippsland, Barwon, Mallee, Central Highlands, Loddon, Goulburn, Ovens Murray, Inner Eastern Melbourne, Wimmera South West (South West), Southern Melbourne, Outer Gippsland, Outer Eastern Melbourne, Hume Moreland, Wimmera (Wimmera South West), Brimbank Melton and Western Melbourne. This completes the rollout of the Orange Door Network across the state.

The Orange Door network includes a range of access options to increase accessibility of services, based on client and community needs. This includes the provision of a primary site, a number of access points, outreach support, and outposted and in-posted services across an area. Work continues with leadership groups in each area to expand access networks. One-off funding has been made available to support fit-out and establishment of access points and outposts.

Since commencement in May 2018 and up to 30 June 2022, The Orange Door network has provided a response for 238,000 people including 143,000 adults and 95,000 children. This includes people who sought help from The Orange Door in the 14 areas where service had commenced by the end of June 2022 – Barwon, Mallee, Bayside Peninsula, Inner Gippsland, North-Eastern Melbourne, Loddon, Central Highlands, Goulburn, Ovens Murray, Inner Eastern Melbourne, Wimmera South-West, Southern Melbourne, Hume Moreland, Outer Gippsland and Outer Eastern Melbourne.

The establishment of The Orange Door network has been done in strong partnerships with government community service organisations and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. Area based governance arrangements oversee operations in each area including the hub leadership group, established in each of these areas to support the implementation and continue to provide oversight of The Orange Door network operations, as well as operational leadership groups and Aboriginal advisory groups. Work is also underway in areas with large multicultural populations to establish multicultural advisory groups, with the first being established in Southern Melbourne area.

The Orange Door network service model articulates the minimum requirements, processes and operational specifications for each service, providing guidance on key service elements including risk assessment planning informed by information from the Central Information Point, and referral processes to support timely connection to the range of services a client may need. This service model guides how The Orange Door network is operating in each of the areas where The Orange Door network has been implemented and is fully aligned with the elements of recommendation 37.

A suite of interface guidance documents between The Orange Door network and state-wide services including Risk Assessment and Management Panels have also been published and implemented.

The Orange Door network has been the subject of a range of reviews including formal reporting on the implementation of The Orange Door network by the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor, a performance audit undertaken by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office, external evaluation of the implementation and operation of The Orange Door network in 2018. Implementation timeframes have been adjusted and processes refined to allow for greater workforce planning, culture building and operations development. These reviews together with operational experiences have provided valuable learning which has shaped the forward implementation approach and continuous improvement of The Orange Door network.

Implemented.