The family law system is crucial for protecting women and children nationwide. With its combination of judicial oversight, counselling and alternative dispute resolution, the family court can offer meaningful support to parents in complex situations. But First Nations families may be missing out.
We partnered with Women’s Legal Services Australia to prepare a new review. The review highlights that First Nations women may face barriers to accessing the family law system, especially when they have experienced family violence.
Collecting data about people who use family violence is complex and there are inconsistences in what, when and how this data is collected.
Tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 1 April 2025, the report makes
71 findings and 61 recommendations.
The report focuses on how the Victorian Government can achieve a more holistic understanding of people using family violence. This includes considering improvements to current data collection, linkage and sharing and what else is needed to build knowledge about the perpetration of family violence.
Recommendations include mapping what existing data on people using family violence can and has the potential to do, and bringing together existing and planned research.
Some key areas of opportunity in the report are:
- Indigenous Data Sovereignty
- rectification processes to correct misidentification
- learning what works: programs for people using family violence
- a population-based survey.
This Policy and Practice Pack series are bite-sized, user-friendly resources that present need-to-know, actionable information for policy and practice audiences. This one in particular is full of recommendations, tools and tips for embedding equity at all stages of program/service/policy design and delivery.
The Commission is considering whether reforms are needed in Victoria to ensure that children continue to have the protection of a Family Violence Intervention Order when they turn 18 unless orders are varied, revoked or discharged.
The Commission has prepared an issues paper to guide community discussion about potential reform. It includes questions to guide your responses. Download it from the link below. Have your say by 17 April 2025.
Download the Issues Paper: Examining Aspects of Family Violence Intervention Orders for Children and Young Adults: Stage 1 – Issues Paper.pdf
This practice guide is designed to strengthen the capacity of staff in out-of-home care services to actively support and promote the online safety of children and young people in their care. It aims to empower staff supporting children, young people, and their carers to:
- Gain a clear understanding of the online environments that children and young people in out-of-home care engage in.
- Recognise and address the unique vulnerabilities faced by children and young people with developmental trauma when navigating the digital world.
- Build confidence and readiness to support online safety with children and young people.
- Understand their responsibilities in adhering to established guidelines and policies for online interactions with children and young people.
This practice guide was developed to address growing concerns about online safety for children and young people, particularly those in out-of-home care. The project was funded by eSafety, reflecting a shared commitment to ensuring all children and young people are safe and supported in digital environments.
This report, developed in partnership between Djirra and Safe and Equal, summarises research, policy frameworks, and Aboriginal women’s lived experiences, alongside insights from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal family violence service providers. It examines the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in non-Aboriginal family violence services support for Aboriginal people.
These findings will guide the development of actions to ensure non-Aboriginal family violence services uphold Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s rights to self-determination, choice, and safety.
On 23 August 2024, the Australian Government received the final report from the expert panel appointed to undertake a rapid review of evidence-based approaches to prevent gender-based violence. The report provides specific and practical advice to strengthen prevention approaches, and builds on considerable work currently underway in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. The report makes 21 recommendations across 6 key areas for action by federal, state and territory governments. The recommendations will be taken forward as a priority for discussion by National Cabinet.