About the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor
The Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor (the Monitor) was formally established in 2017 as an independent statutory officer after the Royal Commission into Family Violence released its report in 2016. The role is responsible for monitoring and reviewing how the government and its agencies deliver the family violence reforms as outlined in its 10-year implementation plan Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s Plan for
Change.
On 1 August 2019 former Victorian Corrections Commissioner Jan Shuard PSM was appointed as the Monitor under section 7 of the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor Act 2016. Jan took up her role on 2 October 2019, replacing Tim Cartwright APM, the inaugural Monitor.
Monitoring approach
The Monitor’s 2021–2022 plan was developed through a process of consultation with government and sector stakeholders. Topics were selected that aligned areas of greatest interest and concern to sector stakeholders, with reform implementation activity outlined in the government’s second Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020–2023. In determining topics, the focus was on areas where anindependent perspective could add the most value to the ongoing reform effort.
The following topics were selected for monitoring throughout 2021 and 2022:
- accurate identification of the predominant aggressor
- family violence reform governance
- early identification of family violence within universal services
- primary prevention system architecture
- Aboriginal-led primary prevention and early intervention
- crisis response to recovery model for victim survivors
- service response for perpetrators and people using violence within the family (this report).
In undertaking our monitoring, the following cross-cutting themes are examined across all topics:
- intersectionality
- children and young people
- Aboriginal self-determination
- priority communities such as LGBTIQ+, people with disabilities, rural and regional, criminalised women,
- older people and refugee and migrant communities
- data, evaluation, outcomes and research
- service integration.
Monitoring of the selected topics is based on information gathered through:
- consultations with government agency staff
- consultations with community organisations and victim survivor groups
- site visits to service delivery organisations (where possible)
- attendance at key governance and working group meetings
- documentation from implementation agencies, including meeting papers and records of decisions by governance bodies
- submissions made to the Monitor in 2020 by individuals and organisations (many of these are available in full on the Monitor’s website.
Engaging victim survivors in our monitoring
We actively sought to include user experience and the voices of victim survivors in our monitoring. The office has worked with established groups including the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council, Berry Street’s Y-Change lived experience consultants and the WEAVERs victim survivor group convened by the University of Melbourne.
Stakeholder consultation
The Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor would like to thank the following stakeholders for their time in monitoring this topic:
- Anglicare Victoria
- Australian Childhood Foundation
- Australian Psychological Society
- Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Services
- Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
- Commission for Children and Young People
- Coroner's Court of Victoria
- Court Services Victoria
- Dardi Munwurro
- Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (including Family Safety Victoria)
- Department of Justice and Community Safety
- Dhelk Dja Koori Caucus
- Djirra
- Drummond Street Service
- Eastern Metro Regional Family Violence Partnership
- Economic Abuse Reference Group
- Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District
- FamilyCare
- Financial Counselling Victoria
- Fitzroy Legal Service
- Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co Op
- Gippsland Lakes Complete Health
- Gippsland Women’s Health
- Goulburn Valley Centre Against Sexual Assault
- Goulburn Valley Regional Integration Committee
- inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence
- Mallee Family Care Community Legal Centre
- La Trobe Community Health Service
- Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne)
- Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre
- NEXUS Primary Health (Broadford)
- No to Violence
- Our Watch
- Primary Care Connect (Shepparton)
- Quantum Support Services
- Relationships Australia Victoria
- Rumbalara Cooperative
- Safe and Equal
- Safe and Equal Expert Advisory Panel (survivor advocates)
- Safe Steps
- Seniors Rights Victoria
- South-East Monash Legal Service
- Specialist Family Violence Court – Ballarat
- Specialist Family Violence Court – Shepparton
- Statewide Family Violence Integration Advisory Committee
- Switchboard - Rainbow Door
- The Orange Door – Bayside Peninsula
- The Orange Door – Goulburn
- The Orange Door - Inner Gippsland
- The Salvation Army
- Thorne Harbour Health
- Uniting Kildonan
- Uniting Vic Tas
- Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council
- Victoria Legal Aid
- Victoria Police
- Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
- Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association
- VincentCare Shepparton
- WEAVERs lived experience group (University of Melbourne)
- Western Integrated Family Violence Committee
- Women with Disabilities Victoria
- Women's Legal Service Victoria
- Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service
- Youth Affairs Council Victoria.
Updated