MARAM & Information Sharing

The MARAM Framework outlines 10 principles that underpin the reforms. The principles support four pillars against which prescribed organisations are required to align their policies, procedures, practice guidance and tools:

• Pillar 1: Shared understanding of family violence
• Pillar 2: Consistent and collaborative practice
• Pillar 3: Responsibilities for risk assessment and management
• Pillar 4: Systems, outcomes and continuous improvement

The pillars include 10 responsibilities for identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk across service sectors:

• Responsibility 1: Respectful, sensitive and safe engagement
• Responsibility 2: Identification of family violence
• Responsibility 3: Intermediate risk assessment
• Responsibility 4: Intermediate risk management
• Responsibility 5: Seek consultation for comprehensive risk assessment, risk management and referrals
• Responsibility 6: Contribute to information sharing with other services (as authorised by legislation)
• Responsibility 7: Comprehensive assessment
• Responsibility 8: Comprehensive risk management and safety planning
• Responsibility 9: Contribute to coordinated risk management
• Responsibility 10: Collaborate for ongoing risk assessment and risk management

The MARAM Practice Guidance regarding Adolescents Using Family Violencewas developed by the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) at RMIT University. As part of this project, the CIJ was asked to conduct a review of the applicable evidence base. This review attempts to provide an accessible discussion and, in doing so, to shape a useful foundation for a Practice Guidance which can inform nuanced risk assessment and management in this complex area of work.

MARAM Alignment Tool for Councils This Tool supports councils in their responsibilities to align their prescribed services with the MARAM (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management) framework. The tool can be used by council managers, senior leadership and prescribed service workers to understand, identify and assess relevant family violence policies and practice to come under alignment with MARAM, and can form the basis of a project plan.

Family Safety Victoria’s MARAM and Information Sharing Quarter 4 2022-23 Newsletter

Download the MARAM Framework on a page

Refer to MARAM Resources

Coordinated Responses: Continuing to Strengthen Collaborative Practice This capacity building resource supports specialist family violence victim survivor services, perpetrator intervention services and child and family services to work collaboratively across prescribed sectors using MARAM, FVISS and CISS. It contains a suite of practice examples with practice tips and questions to promote best practice.

This resource has been developed by Safe and Equal, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CECFW) and No to Violence (NTV).

his series features 11 short animated videos focused on a variety of MARAM foundational concepts, providing another way for practitioners to build MARAM capability.

Topics include:

• Coercive control
• Evidence-based risk factors
• How to make and respond to an information sharing request
• Information sharing
• Intersectionality and MARAM in practice
• MARAM for organisational leaders
• Multi-agency practice
• Non-collusive practice

These videos can also be found on the Victorian Government website

This series features six longer roleplay-style scenarios between a practitioner and client, showing MARAM in practice.

• Victim Survivor: Intermediate Risk Assessment
• Victim Survivor: Risk management including safety planning at intermediate level
• Victim Survivor: Comprehensive risk assessment
• Victim Survivor: Risk management including safety planning at comprehensive level
• Person Using Violence: Intermediate Risk Assessment
• Person Using Violence: Risk management including safety planning at intermediate level

The Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, or FVISS, enables prescribed organisations and services to share information to facilitate assessment and management of family violence risk to children and adults. Together with the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) these schemes create a more collaborative, integrated system that will help improve outcomes for all Victorian children and families. Read about FVISS on the Vic Gov website
The Informing Our Practice resources are learning tools designed to support AOD and Mental Health clinicians to use the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS).

The Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) enables prescribed organisations and services to share information to promote the wellbeing and safety of children. Read about CISS on the Vic Gov website.

If you are a prescribed information sharing entity (ISE), and need information from either Court:

• • email [email protected]

• • Include the following information in your email request:

    • • your name and job title
    • • That you are an ISE as prescribed in theFamily Violence Protection (Information Sharing and Risk Management) Regulations 2018
    • • The purpose of your request (i.e.,risk management)
    • • The name of the person subject to the request and whether they are the victim survivor, perpetrator, third party or a child
    • • Details of any related parties
    • • If the matter is urgent

For more information on information sharing schemes and the courts, visit Court Services

Victoria Police’s process for providing timely information under the FVISS and CISS: https://vicpol.force.com/OnlineRequest/s/

To make it easy to navigate these forms, Victoria Police have produced a Guide for both FVIS and CISS

For any issues regarding these forms please email: [email protected]