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).

this 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 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.

An Information Sharing Entity (ISE) is an organisation that is prescribed under the Family Violence Sharing Scheme (FVISS) and/ or Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS).

Only organisations that are prescribed as ISEs are able to share information under the FVISS and CISS.

If you are sharing information with an employee from another agency or institution, you must make sure that the other organisation is also classified as an ISE.

Under the FVISS, an ISE can share information with a victim survivor for a risk management purpose.

Access the Information Sharing Entity list here

Risk Assessment Entities (RAEs) are a sub-set of ISEs that can request and disclose information for a family violence assessment purpose under the FVISS to establish the presence and source of family violence risk. RAEs are therefore able to request information from other ISEs about alleged perpetrators, in addition to information about perpetrators, victim survivors and third parties for a family violence assessment purpose.

Which organisations are RAEs?

• State-funded specialist family violence services (including refuges, Men’s Behaviour Change Programs, family violence counselling and therapeutic programs)
• Risk Assessment and Management Panel (RAMP) members (including those services that would not otherwise be prescribed but only when participating in a RAMP)
• State-funded sexual assault services
• Child Protection
• Child FIRST services (excluding broader family services)
• Victims Support Agency
• Victim Assistance Programs and Victims of Crime Helpline)
• Victoria Police
• The Orange Door services.