A performance audit into whether the Department of Communities effectively administered support services for people experiencing family and domestic violence (FDV) has found that it was not fully effective.
In her report, Department of Communities’ Administration of Family and Domestic Violence Support Services, Auditor General Caroline Spence said that while there was adequate day-to-day administration of current contracted services, the Department lacked an overarching understanding of community demand and wait times.
“Although pleasing that the Department generally administered service provider contracts well, it lacks an overarching understanding of current demand for some services and how long people are waiting to access the services,” Ms Spence said.
“Without this information the Department’s ability to assess if current services are sufficient, if there are gaps and to effectively plan for future requirements is limited,” she said.
“It also won’t be able to provide evidence-based information to the State Government to determine future funding and service needs.”
Ms Spence said current FDV contracts were appropriately authorised; included quality compliance and reporting requirements; and had set review processes to support ongoing provision of services.
“However, there are opportunities for the Department to strengthen aspects of its contract management including its timeliness of service reviews, verifying service providers’ compliance with legislation and how it uses information from service providers to inform its future planning of services,” she said.
“The Department does not know if FDV support services are meeting needs, nor can it quantify if performance varies over time and in response to different factors.”
She said the Department could not know whether support services were meeting needs because it didn’t collect or monitor demand and waitlist data.
Ms Spence made four recommendations aimed at improving the management of contracted services; collecting relevant data on un-met demand and waitlist times; completing procurement planning; and publicly reporting on progress against the Path to Safety: Western Australia’s Strategy to Reduce Family and Domestic Violence 2020-2030.
The Auditor General’s 18-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link and the audit team was Dr Andrew Pope, Andrew Harris, Jesse Barker and Maria Ahmed.
