Next steps
At the time of writing this report, COVID-19 continues in the State of Victoria as well as internationally, and the ongoing impacts upon victims of family violence and the services who aim to respond and support them are yet to be fully known. In Phase 2, organisations that will be brought into MARAM legislation include more services at the forefront of the pandemic impact and response such as hospitals and health services, community health services and organisations, aged care services and education.
The next Phase of work for 2020–21 onwards will consolidate the implementation progress made to date, support departments to continue to lead the roll-out of the reforms tailored to their workforces and to onboard Phase 2 organisations. There will be a continued role for departments to support family violence response during COVID-19 as determined by need and the course of events. Governance groups and sector grants will support the onboarding of Phase 2 organisations and seek to mitigate any difficulties which may arise from Phase 1 organisations being further ahead in their maturity of implementation.
The Victorian Government has released the second Family violence reform rolling action plan 2020–2023 (RAP2) as part of its commitment in the 10-year plan: Ending family violence: Victoria’s plan for change. RAP2 as the plan for the next Phase of the long-term reform of Victoria’s family violence system. MARAM and information sharing form integral parts of the commitments in the plan.
As the reform evolves, progress will continue to be measured through this annual report and will be further informed by the legislative five-year review in 2023.
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