Premier

Responding Faster To Family Violence

09 December 2016

The Andrews Labor Government is helping Victorians experiencing family violence connect to support services faster.

The Government is investing $1.7 million in a new Risk Assessment Report Portal to replace faxed referrals, that will capture more accurate information about individual cases and ensure a faster response to family violence.

Victoria Police makes more than 71,000 family violence referrals to child protection, family violence services, men’s behaviour services and Child FIRST every year.

All services will have access to the information they need to make appropriate risk assessments of family violence incidents.

The Government worked with Victoria Police and child and family violence specialist services to develop the portal, to ensure it supports initiatives like the Risk Assessment Management Panels and the planned Support and Safety Hubs.

The Government today also announced a call for submission on the redevelopment of Victoria’s Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework - a whole-of-government approach.

This follows a review by Monash University earlier this year, and responds to the first recommendation from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which calls for a framework that meets the needs of all victims.

In the recently announced Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s Plan for Change, the Victorian Government committed to better sharing of information so a victims right to safety isn’t trumped by a perpetrators right to privacy.

The Victoria Against Violence campaign is a key part of the UN’s orange-themed UNiTE to End Violence Against Women campaign until 10 December.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos

“The Andrews Labor Government is putting the right systems in place so women and children fleeing family violence feel safe and supported.”

“Child protection services have been using this outdated technology for far too long. These reports will now be processed immediately to ensure a coordinated response in real time.”

“This is a busy time for family violence services and this new system will help these organisations reach out to women and children faster.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

Was this page helpful?