The Community Services Directorate is calling for feedback on proposed changes to the way ACT Government Agencies communicate and support victims of domestic and family violence.
Releasing its discussion paper Proposed Amendments to the Domestic Violence Agencies Act 1986, the Directorate said it wanted to improve the safety of people at risk of domestic and family violence and better hold people who used violence to account.
“We are proposing to change the law in the ACT to enable Agencies and support services to share information about a person at risk or a person using violence, with the purpose of keeping people safe,” the Directorate said.
“This could include communication between Agencies about the situation of a person at risk, or information about a person using violence that will help to hold them accountable,” it said
“A more integrated approach that improves communication between Agencies and provides a better picture of risk will assist the service system to move away from a more crisis-focused response to an earlier intervention response, resulting in better safety and wellbeing outcomes for the community.”
The Directorate said it was widely reported by victim survivors of domestic and family violence that they experienced repeated trauma by having to constantly explain their circumstances to different Agencies.
“Improvements to how Agencies communicate and identify risk will go towards a reduction of victim survivors experiencing this unnecessary retraumatising experience,” the Directorate said.
“Further, these reforms will ensure that information is treated with care and confidentiality, shared only to inform safety risk assessment and planning, and which also promotes victim survivor agency by ensuring that they are kept informed of how their information is being shared.”
It said the Domestic Violence Agencies (Information Sharing) Amendment Bill included the appointment of an Information Sharing Coordinator who would be able to facilitate the disclosure and use of information in a confidential manner to ensure the safety and autonomy of the person at risk.
The Directorate said the new Coordinator would facilitate the disclosure of information between Agencies and its use by information sharing entities for a protection purpose when required.
The Directorate’s 11-page Discussion Paper is open for feedback until 31 October and can be accessed at this PS News link.
Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in Australia. You can call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service on (02) 6280 0900.
