Submission to the Victorian LGBTIQ+ Strategy
DV Vic welcomes the development of the Victorian LGBTIQ+ Strategy (the Strategy) as an important advancement in Victoria’s commitment to elevate the voices and experiences of all LGBTIQ+ Victorians, including those who are victim-survivors of family violence. The LGBTIQ+ community was identified by the Royal Commission into Family Violence (RCFV) as one of the community groups at increased and particular risk of family violence, and evidence is emerging that LGBTIQ+…
More Details >DV Vic Submission to the Consultation on a Bill for a new Online Safety Act
DV Vic welcomes the commitment of the Australian government to improve Australia’s online safety laws. The Online Safety Bill strengthens many of the existing Schemes, adds a cyber-abuse Scheme, and increases the power of the eSafety Commissioner. DV Vic believes that victim-survivors have a right to use technology, and that internet service providers, social media services or relevant electronic service have a responsibility to ensure the online safety of their…
More Details >2020/21 Victorian State Budget Summary
On 24 November 2020, the Victorian State Budget 2020-21 was released with a strong focus on people and communities, setting Victoria on the road to recovery post-COVID-19. Delivering on its promise to “keeping women and children safe”, the state allocates $238 million to support victim-survivors of family violence and their families with a specific focus on multiagency information sharing and perpetrator accountability programs. Some of the new funding initiatives in…
More Details >DV Vic submission to the VLRC Improving Justice Responses to Sexual Offences Inquiry
DV Vic welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this important review being undertaken by the Victorian Law Reform Commission into Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences. Unfortunately, sexual assault that occurs within the context of family violence is common and under-reported and whilst reform activity since the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (RCFV) is resulting in specialist family violence responses being developed by the justice…
More Details >DV Vic Submission to the Victorian Youth Strategy
DV Vic warmly welcomes the commitment of the Victorian government to develop a coordinated strategy to prioritise the voices and needs of young Victorians. DV Vic believes young people are incredibly resilient, resourceful and creative, and we support the proposed vision statement that young Victorians should be supported to participate and contribute fully and safely in the community with equitable opportunity to do so. We submit however, that the capacity…
More Details >Progressing Recommendation 31 – Final Report
DV Vic and SAS Vic are pleased to announce the release of the final report of the Progressing Recommendation 31 Project. The Project is intended to inform possible ways forward for Recommendation 31 which focuses on the potential for improving and increasing collaboration between the specialist family violence and specialist sexual assault sectors, as outlined in the 2016 Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence Report. The project found that the…
More Details >Open letter to Victorian MPs regarding the proposed legislative changes to ban LGBTQ+ conversion practices in Victoria
As the peak body for specialist family violence services for victim-survivors in Victoria, Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) stands with our LGBTQ+ members, partners, allies, and staff in supporting the proposed legislative changes to ban LGBTQ+ conversion practices in Victoria. We also pay tribute to members of the LGBTQ+ community who have survived this kind of persecution and have shown incredible bravery in contributing to the design of the proposed…
More Details >DV Vic response to Federal Budget 2020-2021
Like many others in the family violence and community services sector, DV Vic is disappointed that the Federal Government has not done more in the latest budget to support vulnerable members of our community who have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, including victim-survivors of family violence. Download DV Vic’s full response here. Find the AWAVA Budget Analysis here.
More Details >DV Vic Position Paper on the Support and Safety Hub Model & Implementation – 2nd edition
This document is a second edition of the DV Vic Position Paper on the support and Safety Hub Model & Implementation, published in March 2019. Its purpose is to communicate the position of the specialist family violence sector arising from the implementation of the five establishment hub sites and three incoming sites to government and other key stakeholders, and to be a tool for advocacy at the local, regional, and…
More Details >DV Vic Submission to Review of Real Estate Education Regulations
In December 2019, DV Vic provided a submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) regarding changes to the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 (Vic) (the Amendment Act) to increase support, protections and housing security for victim-survivors of family violence. These changes are in line with the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence. DV Vic supports the changes and the…
More Details >Victorian LGBTIQ Strategy Submission
DV Vic welcomed the 2015 Victorian Family Violence Royal Commission recommendations aimed at creating a more inclusive family violence service sector. DV Vic recognises that family violence occurs in all communities and has been particularly engaged over recent years with providing direct support to the Specialist Family Violence Service (SVFS) sector as well as championing change in regard to access and inclusion for LGBTIQ people. Rather than addressing specific questions…
More Details >Joint No to Violence and Domestic Violence Victoria Virtual Roundtable on Non-Fatal Strangulation
There were 62 attendees to the session from No to Violence and Domestic Violence Victoria’s membership and organisations. This document is a consolidation of points raised across the discussions.
More Details >DV Vic and DVRCV Submission to the National Inquiry into Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence
DV Vic and DVRCV welcome the opportunity to contribute to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ Inquiry into Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence. We acknowledge the commitment and action taken to date by governments across Australia to address violence against women and their children. While the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (National Plan) has laid the foundations for…
More Details >Monitoring the Family Violence Reforms Submission
The years since the Royal Commission have been a period of unprecedented investment in family violence prevention and response, with the Victorian Government investing nearly $3 billion already to implement the Royal Commission’s recommendations. This investment has created rapid change reflective of an ambitious reform agenda, on a scale not previously attempted. In many instances the impact of the immediate reforms is only just starting to be felt as the…
More Details >DV Vic Submission to National Homelessness Inquiry
Family violence is the most common reason that victim-survivors of family violence, including children, become homeless. DV Vic’s submission will focus specifically on the following points within the Terms of Reference as they relate to victim-survivors of family violence: – Opportunities for early intervention and prevention of homelessness – Services to support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness As there was significant overlap between the National Inquiry…
More Details >DV Vic Submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
Given DV Vic’s central position in the Victorian family violence system, we are well placed to provide insights into how victim-survivors of family violence with a disability, interact with the criminal justice system. Current research shows that people with disabilities are more likely to experience family violence than people without disabilities. Further, women and girls with disabilities experience higher rates of violence and abuse than men with disabilities and “the…
More Details >Submission to the Inquiry into Homelessness in Victoria
Family violence is the most common reason that women and children become homeless. Nearly half (47 per cent) of people accessing Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) agencies in Victoria in 2017-18 listed family violence as their primary reason for seeking support. This is compared to only 31 per cent in 2014-15 when Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence released its report. Nearly half of the people who reported experiencing family violence…
More Details >Religious Freedom Bills – Second Exposure Drafts Submission
Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) appreciates the opportunity to provide this submission on the second exposure drafts of the Religious Freedom Bill 2019, Religious Discrimination (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019, and the Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Freedom of Rights) Bill 2019 (‘the Religious Freedom Bills’). DV Vic supports the right of all to freedom of thought and belief, including the freedom of religion, without discrimination. DV Vic also supports the right…
More Details >DV Vic and No to Violence combined submission: Non-fatal strangulation offence
No to Violence (NTV) and Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) welcome the opportunity to provide our feedback on Victoria’s proposed stand-alone strangulation offence. We commend the Victorian Government for highlighting the serious issue of non-fatal strangulation in the context of family violence (FV), as well as the impacts of non-fatal strangulation on victim survivor’s physical and psychological health and emphasising the association of non-fatal strangulation with FV risk and serious…
More Details >Submission to Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System
Numerous inquiries have been held into the family law system and “the intersection between family violence and family law”. We submit that these inquiries provide the Government with an extensive analysis of what is problematic within the current family law system, and proposed solutions, to form the basis of immediate reform. Given the amount of existing evidence, we continue to question the necessity of this Inquiry,10 but are reluctantly engaging…
More Details >Submission to the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020
The passage of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 (Vic) (the Amendment Act) was a significant opportunity to update the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) (the Act) to better reflect the contemporary private rental market and improve the rights and protections for tenants throughout Victoria. It was also a significant opportunity to respond to a number of issues identified by the Royal Commission into Family Violence (the Royal Commission) relating…
More Details >2020/21 Budget Submission to the Victorian Government
DV Vic submitted a 2020/21 Budget Submission to the Victorian Government. On behalf of our members, and particularly the Specialist Family Violence Services for victims-survivors across the state, DV Vic has made submissions related to two main themes – investing in the central role of specialist family violence services within the family violence system; and other family violence sector investment priorities that add the greatest value to the systemic response…
More Details >Submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System
DV Vic’s submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System calls for a social justice, violence-informed approach to mental health. Our submission discusses gaps in the system, the need for trauma and violence-informed therapeutic interventions, carer relationships where there is violence and inter-generational effects of family violence on mental health. DV Vic Mental Health Royal Commission Submission
More Details >Submission to Senate Inquiry into the ParentsNext Program
DV Vic wrote a submission to the recent Senate Inquiry into the ParentsNext program calling on the Australian Government to abandon the compulsory and mutual obligation aspects of this program immediately. ParentsNext is a compulsory “pre-employment” program aimed at “vulnerable” parents (overwhelmingly single mothers, many of whom are Aboriginal) who are on income support payments for more than six months and have children between six months and six years of…
More Details >Submission on Early Release of Superannuation Consultation
DV Vic responded to the Review of Early Access to Superannuation for victims of family violence calling on the Australian Government to abandon this proposal. We reiterated the concerns we raised in early 2018, when this scheme was originally proposed, that women already have significantly less superannuation compared to men. Allowing victim survivors to access their superannuation early would put women experiencing family violence at greater risk of poverty later…
More Details >Submission to Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Family Law System: Discussion Paper
DV Vic made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Family Law System: Discussion Paper. We reiterated the need to transform the family law system’s culture to one that meets the needs of survivors of family violence and their children. We supported proposals that will help facilitate a coordinated trauma-informed response to the diverse and intersecting needs of family law system users, especially victim survivors, and…
More Details >Submission on Family Violence Information Sharing and Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework
Domestic Violence Victoria and endorsing organisations No to Violence, Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, Djirra, inTouch Multicultural Centre against Family Violence and Women with Disabilities Victoria, provided feedback on the re-developed Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework and the Family Violence Information Scheme. The submission responds to the following documents: Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Policy and Practice Document Framework Legislative Instrument – Family Violence Protection…
More Details >Submission on Child Information Sharing Scheme Regulatory Impact Statement and Regulations
DV Vic and No To Violence provided feedback on the Child Information Sharing Scheme Regulatory Impact Statement and Regulations in a joint submission. The key points of our submission recommend: Managing the inter-dependencies of the CIS Scheme, FVIS Scheme, and the Framework by re-developing the current implementation plan and timeline. Training and capacity-building programs to develop consistent practices for child information sharing across prescribed organisations. Establishing an overarching governance group to…
More Details >Submission on Child Information Sharing Scheme Ministerial Guidelines
DV Vic wrote a joint submission on Child Information Sharing Scheme Ministerial Guidelines with Victoria Legal Aid, Djirra, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, Federation of Community Legal Centres and No to Violence. The submission said the Guidelines will play an important role in supporting the application and implementation of the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CIS Scheme). It sets out what is important in an information sharing regime to encourage help-seeking behaviour…
More Details >Submission to Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Family Law System Issues Paper
DV Vic made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Family Law System: Issues Paper. We said Australia’s family law system needs a fundamental transformation in culture to better meet the needs of survivors of family violence and their children. The changes to the system should have a key focus on meeting the rights of women and children to safety. They should support a move away…
More Details >The Prevalence of Acquired Brain Injury among Victims and Perpetrators of Family Violence
Brain Injury Australia has launched Australia’s first research report into family violence and brain injury, funded by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. Many DV Vic members participated in the research, including at a member consultation in October 2017 and through individual practitioner interviews. Among the findings; of the 16,000 Victorians who attended hospital over a decade due to family violence, 2 in every 5 sustained a brain…
More Details >Sentencing Advisory Council: Sentencing and Compensation Orders Reference
DV Vic provided verbal and written submissions to the Sentencing Advisory Council on whether restitution and compensation orders should become sentencing orders. Key highlights of DV Vic’s submission were: Restitution and compensation orders should not become sentencing orders in cases of family violence. Financial reparation should not become a purpose of sentencing in cases of family violence. DV Vic supports the proposal that survivors of family violence should be given…
More Details >Victorian Budget 2018/19
The Victorian Budget 2018/19 has a strong focus on jobs and training. While there is little detail to date, Domestic Violence Victoria welcomed the Premier’s acknowledgement that part of their workforce investment will be dedicated to building the skilled family violence workforce required to deliver on the Royal Commission reforms. Family violence was not a headline budget item this year, but there were some new funding announcements which are outlined…
More Details >How multi-agency responses to family/domestic violence can generate positive systemic change
DV Vic’s Practice Development Unit Manager, Catherine Plunkett, was granted a Churchill Fellowship to explore how lasting system change can be achieved through the work of multi-agency responses to family violence.
More Details >Response to early release of superannuation benefits discussion paper
DV Vic responded to a discussion paper from Commonwealth Treasury on early release of superannuation benefits. DV Vic Response to early release of superannuation benefits discussion paper 07.02.18 (PDF)
More Details >Submission on Family Violence Information Sharing Guidelines, Regulations and Regulatory Impact Statement
DV Vic made a submission to Family Safety Victoria on the Family Violence Information Sharing Guidelines, regulations and Regulatory Impact Statement that complement the Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2017. DV Vic Submission on Family Violence Information Sharing Guidelines, Regulations and Regulatory Impact Statement – 13.10.17 (PDF)
More Details >Submission to Department of Health and Human Services: Child Information Sharing Consultation Paper
DV Vic made a joint submission on the Child Information Sharing Consultation Paper with Victoria Legal Aid, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, Federation of Community Legal Centres, No To Violence/Men’s Referral Service, Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre, Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria and Berry Street. The submission put forward a range of safeguards for the child information sharing regime to employ to engender a culture of information sharing that promotes…
More Details >Joint Submission on the Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Consultation Draft Bill 2017
DV Vic joined Victoria Legal Aid, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, the Federation of Community Legal Centres and Law Institute Victoria to write a joint submission on the Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Consultation Draft Bill 2017. Leanne Sinclair, Associate Director, Family Violence Response, Victoria Legal Aid, wrote about this collaborative work on LinkedIn. Privacy, information sharing and a collaborative approach (LinkedIn article)
More Details >Response to the exposure draft of the Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill
Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) fully supports the submission made on the exposure draft by Women’s Legal Service Australia (WLSA), including their recommended amendments. In particular DV Vic highlights those recommendations related to women being directly cross-examined by their abuser, and appropriate resourcing and training to embed structural changes. Letter of support (PDF)
More Details >DV Vic and No To Violence Joint Submission on the proposed Child Safety and Wellbeing Information Sharing Regime
DV Vic and No To Violence wrote a joint submission proposed information sharing regime for child safety and wellbeing. Submission – Sharing Information about Child Safety and Wellbeing
More Details >Why a history of family violence is a community risk
Fiona McCormack, CEO Domestic Violence Victoria Jacqui Watt, CEO No to Violence/Men’s Referral Service Thursday 26 January 2017 As the horror of the Bourke Street mall rampage was starting to sink in late that Friday afternoon, reports emerged that the driver was well known to police for, among other things, his history of family violence. Those words were chilling for those affected by family violence and workers in the sector….
More Details >Expanding Early Interventions in Family Violence in Victoria
A report on current approaches to early interventions in family violence, both in specialist family violence services and universal services.
More Details >DV Vic Submissions to the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence
DV Vic recently made four submissions to the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.
More Details >DV Vic State Budget Submission 2016/2017
DV Vic recently made a submission and key recommendations to the 2016/2017 Victorian State Budget process.
More Details >Specialist family violence services: Domestic Violence Victoria outlines what they are and how they can work with medical practitioners
Fiona McCormack, CEO, Domestic Violence Victoria Vicdoc, October 2015 Download PDF First published October 2015, Magazine of the Australian Medical Association (Victoria) Limited
More Details >Three steps Malcolm Turnbull can take that will help us beat scourge of domestic violence
Malcolm Turnbull, all of us working to prevent violence against women — and the community generally — hope your leadership heralds a serious response to violence against women. It’s time to stop talking and to take real action. Published in the Herald Sun, 21 September 2015 View the full article here
More Details >Protect the vulnerable (Letter to the Editor)
Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable, and the limited options for protection and redress render them voiceless and powerless. Letter to the editor published in The Age, 20 August 2016 View the full article here
More Details >Submission to the Family Violence Information Sharing Legislation Consultation paper
DV Vic made a submission on the family violence information sharing legislation. DV Vic supports the needs for this legislative reform but argues it will only be effective in a clearly prescribed and regulated environment that pertains to family violence and the purpose of women and children’s safety. View the submission here
More Details >Cross Sector Alliance Principles of Co-design
The Cross Sector Alliance has developed a Principles for Co-design paper.
More Details >Royal Commission into Family Violence: Recommendations and responses
Introduction Fiona McCormack, CEO, Domestic Violence Victoria, and Jenny Smith, CEO, Council to Homeless Persons Parity (Royal Commission into Family Violence: Recommendations and responses), May 2016 View the full article here
More Details >Between Report and Reform: The Process That Brings it All Together
Prue Cameron, Senior Policy Adviser, Domestic Violence Victoria Parity (Royal Commission into Family Violence: Recommendations and responses), May 2016 View the full article here
More Details >Family violence: can we afford not to invest?
There is no accounting for the human toll of family violence, and there is an enormous economic toll as well, writes Fiona McCormack. Published 4 April 2016 in The Age View the full article here
More Details >COAG and domestic violence: Victoria throws down the challenge for action
Victoria’s royal commission into family violence – and the Premier’s response to it – set the bar high for governments across Australia and show what steps can be taken to make a real difference, writes Fiona McCormack. Published in The Drum, 1 April 2016 View the full article here
More Details >The extraordinary power of politically validating the scourge of domestic violence
The 227 recommendations of Victoria’s royal commission into family violence mark a watershed moment for the nation. Here are five key starting points, writes Fiona McCormack Published in The Guardian, 31 March 2016 View the full article here
More Details >Taking a stand for change
We made history yesterday in Victoria. We saw family violence emerge from the shadows, and be subject to the strongest scrutiny our system of government can provide, the brightest light that we could shine, writes Fiona McCormack Published in the Herald Sun, 30 March 2016 View the full article here
More Details >Eleven ways to boost your work with news media: How to help the media to report prevention of violence against women
A guide to working more effectively with media for violence against women practitioners.
More Details >The missing piece in the family violence system puzzle: the place for women’s voice
If there is one powerful lesson the Royal Commission into Family Violence has already taught us, it is the central importance of the voices of women who have lived with family violence, writes Fiona McCormack View the full piece here Published 22 March 2016
More Details >Safe at Home needs to be Affordable at Home
When women won the right to own property it was not envisaged that this would be conditional on safety. Domestic violence is one of the leading drivers of homelessness in Australia. Today, too many women are forced to surrender their right to housing and are displaced in order to be safe from violence, writes Alison Macdonald and Hannah Gissane. View the full article here
More Details >DV Vic submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee Inquiry into the phenomenon colloquially referred to as ‘revenge porn’
This short submission points out the critical importance of understanding the use of ‘revenge porn’ in the context of intimate partner violence…
More Details >Exploring the connection between family violence and alcohol and other drugs
Fiona McCormack, CEO, Domestic Violence Victoria, and Moo Baulch, CEO, Domestic Violence NSW NADA Advocate, September 2015 View the full article here
More Details >Domestic violence package: A great start, but it will only get us so far
One-off funding to prevent family violence is a positive first step, but until Australia’s legacy of ad hoc and inadequate funding is comprehensively addressed, women and children will remain in danger, write Fiona McCormack and Prue Cameron. View the full article here
More Details >RMIT report on Opportunities for Early Intervention
RMIT’s Centre for Innovative Justice has released ‘Opportunities for Early Intervention: bringing perpetrators of family violence into view’
More Details >Working with News and Social Media to Prevent Violence Against Women and Their Children
Vanessa Born, Media Projects Manager, Domestic Violence Victoria Parity (It has to stop: Homelessness violence), May 2015 View the full article here
More Details >Working with News and Social Media to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children: A Strategic Framework for Victoria
A plan for working with the media on the primary prevention of violence against women and their children.
More Details >What to do about terror at home
Fiona McCormack, CEO, Domestic Violence Victoria Law Institute Journal, March 2015 View the PDF here First published in the March 2015 Law Institute Journal, Volume 89, Issue 3.
More Details >Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia July 2014
This submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia addresses key issues: the prevalence and impact of domestic violence in Australia; the factors contributing to the present levels of domestic violence; the adequacy of policy and community responses to domestic violence; the effects of policy decisions on the ability of women to escape domestic violence and; how the Federal Government can best eliminate violence against women and their…
More Details >Joint Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission, Issues Paper on Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws – Employment and Superannuation April 2011
Domestic Violence Victoria and the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria made this joint submission to the ALRC’s review of the interaction between family violence and employment and superannuation law. It identifies a number of opportunities to improve the legal and administrative response to victims of family violence in the area of employment law. View the submission here.
More Details >Joint Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission, Issues Paper on Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws – Immigration, April 2011
In this joint submission to the ALRC Family Violence Inquiry into the interaction between the Migration Act and family violence, the ways that the immigration system contributes to the precarious situation of migrant and refugee women and children experiencing family violence in Australia are addressed. View the submission here.
More Details >Joint Submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011, April 2011
This joint submission calls for amendment of the Commonwealth Family Act to ensure that the safety of children and their protection from physical and psychological harm is the first priority within the family law system. View the submission here.
More Details >Joint Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission Family Violence: Improving Legal Frameworks June 2010
This joint submission explores the complex interaction between state and territory family and domestic violence and child protection laws and the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the impact of inconsistent interpretation or application of laws in cases of sexual assault occurring in a family/domestic violence context on victims of such violence. View the submission here.
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