Strengthening Victoria’s family violence risk assessment and information sharing: Understanding effective capability building to support MARAM implementation through the experiences of victim-survivors

The Royal Commission into Family Violence (Royal Commission) envisioned a Victoria free from family violence – and one that keeps people safe, responds to victim-survivors’ needs and wellbeing, and keeps people using violence in view. Central to this vision was the redevelopment of the Common Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) to respond to gaps in family violence risk assessment and management across the broader social service system.

This resulted in the development of the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM) which expanded on CRAF and aims for a system wide shared understanding of family violence and can be used by all services who may come into contact with individuals and families experiencing family violence.

The sectors canvassed in this study serve diverse Victorian communities and frequently encounter people who are experiencing or using family violence. The project sought to understand how capability can be built across sectors and embedded into an environment of continuous learning within the workplace for practitioners prescribed at the identification and intermediate levels of MARAM. With a focus on non-family violence specialist practitioners and workforces (noting that these practitioners are specialists in their own field), and on victim-survivors of family violence, the project has brought together diverse perspectives to provide a foundation for strengthened MARAM alignment across numerous sectors.