To address this crime and improve the complex, interconnected system of services that respond to it, the Victorian Government launched Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence (the Royal Commission) in February 2015. The Royal Commission delivered its report and recommendations in March 2016.
The 227 recommendations outline a vision for a Victoria that:
- is free from family violence
- keeps adults, young people and children safe
- responds to victim survivors’ wellbeing and needs
- holds perpetrators to account for their actions and behaviours.
1.1 Reforms to risk assessment and management
In particular, the Royal Commission’s recommendations focus on providing consistent, collaborative approaches to identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk.
The Royal Commission noted the strong foundations of existing practice, which was based on the Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (also known as the Common Risk Assessment Framework or CRAF).
To address key gaps and issues, however, the Royal Commission recommended redeveloping the CRAF, and embedding it into the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) (the FVPA).
1.2 The MARAM Framework
The Victorian Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM Framework) updates and replaces the CRAF.
The MARAM Framework provides a system-wide approach to risk assessment and risk management.
It aims to:
- increase the safety of people experiencing family violence
- ensure the broad range of family violence experiences and risks are represented, including for Aboriginal and diverse communities, children, young people and older people, and across identities and family and relationship types
- keep perpetrators in view of the system and hold them accountable
- align practice across the broad range of organisations that are responsible for identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk
- ensure consistent use of the framework across these organisations and between the sectors that comprise the family violence system.
To meet these aims, the MARAM Framework provides:
- 10 Framework Principles to underpin practice across the service system
- four conceptual ‘pillars’ against which organisations will align their policies, procedures, practice guidelines and tools
- 10 Responsibilities for Practice that describe the roles and expectations of framework organisations
- information to support a shared understanding of family violence, including the experience of risk and its effect on individuals, families and communities.
In addition, the MARAM Framework provides for an expanded range of organisations and sectors that have a formal role in family violence risk assessment and risk management practice.
1.3 Prescribed organisations
Under amendments to the FVPA, organisations across the many parts of the social service system must now ensure their policies, procedures, practice guidance and tools align with the MARAM Framework.
These are known as prescribed organisations.
From April 2021, organisations and professionals covered under the reforms, include:
- 6,710 organisations and 392,000 professionals will be prescribed under MARAM
- 8,386 organisations and 408,000 professionals will be prescribed under FVISS.
Ensuring prescribed organisations align their risk assessment and management activities with the MARAM Framework means there will be a consistent response to family violence across Victoria’s service system.
1.4 Risk assessment and management responsibilities
The MARAM Framework outlines the 10 practice responsibilities that prescribed organisations must adhere to in their work with victim survivors and perpetrators of family violence:
- Responsibility 1: Respectful, sensitive and safe engagement
- Responsibility 2: Identification of family violence
- Responsibility 3: Intermediate risk assessment
- Responsibility 4: Intermediate risk management
- Responsibility 5: Seek consultation for comprehensive risk assessment, risk management and referrals
- Responsibility 6: Contribute to information sharing with other services (as authorised by legislation)
- Responsibility 7: Comprehensive assessment
- Responsibility 8: Comprehensive risk management and safety planning
- Responsibility 9: Contribute to coordinated risk management
- Responsibility 10: Collaborate for ongoing risk assessment and risk management
The MARAM Practice Guides provide practical advice for people working in prescribed organisations to embed these responsibilities in their engagement with victim survivors and perpetrators.
1.5 About this document and the MARAM Practice Guides
This document, the Foundation Knowledge Guide, is part of a suite of resources known as the MARAM Practice Guides.
These resources comprise:
- this Foundation Knowledge Guide
- MARAM Practice Guides that show you how to implement the Responsibilities in your work
- risk assessment and management tools and templates that support the MARAM Practice Guides
- the Organisation Embedding Guidance and Resources to support organisational leaders.
A MARAM Practice Guide for adolescents who use violence is currently under development.
The MARAM Framework and Practice Guides were developed through extensive consultation with experts, departmental policy and practice areas, and professionals in specialist and universal services, including those specialising in working with Aboriginal communities, diverse communities, children, young people and older people.
The MARAM Framework and Practice Guides will be evaluated and updated as the evidence base evolves.
1.5.1 Foundation Knowledge Guide
The Foundation Knowledge Guide isfor all practitioners who use the MARAM Framework.
It focuses on the legislative context, roles and interactions within the service system, risk factors, key concepts for practice, and an overview of the gendered lens and drivers of family violence and presentations of risk across different age groups and Aboriginal and diverse communities.
The Foundation Knowledge Guide is required reading for all professionals across leadership and governance, management and supervision to direct practice roles.
You should read it first before moving on to the relevant victim–survivor or perpetrator-focused MARAM Practice Guides 1–10.
1.5.2 MARAM Practice Guides
The MARAM Practice Guides each comprise 10 chapters relating to the 10 MARAM Responsibilities. They are for professionals working with adult and child victim survivors of family violence, and adult perpetrators of family violence:
- Responsibilities for Practice Guide when working with adult and child victim survivors of family violence (2019), referred to as the victim survivor–focused MARAM Practice Guide
- Responsibilities for Practice Guide when working with adults using family violence (2021), referred to as the perpetrator-focused MARAM Practice Guide.
There is some overlap in content between the two sets of guides, as many of the same principles and practice concepts apply to working with both victim survivors and perpetrators.
Each guide gives you detailed advice on how to ensure your practice aligns with your organisation’s MARAM Framework responsibilities.
The guides cover applying foundation knowledge, and then build on this to provide practice guidance for:
- safe engagement
- identification of risk
- levels of risk assessment and management
- secondary consultation and referral
- information sharing
- multiagency and coordinated practice.
Different professionals within prescribed organisations will have different levels of responsibility, which will be informed by the contact they have with victim survivors and perpetrators.
You should work with your organisational leaders to understand your role and to identify which responsibilities to apply in practice.
You must understand how to apply each of the responsibilities that are a part of your role.
Note: Guidance on working with adolescents and young people as victim survivors is provided in the victim survivor–focused MARAM Practice Guide. Supplementary guidance for working with adolescents who use family violence will be published in 2024.
Young people aged 18 to 25 years should be considered with a developmental lens and to ensure any therapeutic needs relevant to their age and developmental stage are met. The adult perpetrator-focused MARAM Practice Guide has relevant information for assessing and managing risk when working with young people aged 18 to 25 years who use family violence.
Supplementary guidance for working with children and young people to directly and comprehensively assess risk and needs will be published in 2024.
1.5.3 Organisation Embedding Guidance and Resources
The Organisation Embedding Guidance and Resources are for organisational leaders. It aims to help leaders support their professionals and services in their roles and responsibilities under the MARAM Framework.
It includes specific activities organisational leaders can undertake to determine responsibilities for staff across their organisation.
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