Strategic priority 1: Demonstrate clear leadership that cultivates trust across service systems and organisations
Achieving MARAM’s objectives requires clear, consistent leadership. This will drive change in practice across different sectors.
In 2024–25, departments and sector peaks continued to lead Victoria’s shared understanding of family violence. This includes supporting organisations to strengthen their risk assessment practices.
Leadership highlights from 2024-25
The Housing portfolio has continued to enhance pathways within the Victorian Housing Register by supporting the Exit pathways for victim survivors project to support renters from refuge and crisis accommodation. The project helps people retain their priority for social housing under the Victorian Housing Register’s ‘homeless with support’ category. |
Child and young person practice guidance
Children and young people are victim survivors of family violence in their own right. Their needs, and experiences of family violence, differ from adults. This means they need a tailored and dedicated response to identify, assess and manage their individual family violence risk and wellbeing needs.
DFFH is developing child and young person-focused MARAM Practice Guides and tools. These will assist professionals to engage directly with children and young people. DFFH will publish the guides and tools in 2026.
These resources build on current published practice guides developed for working with adult victim survivors and adults using family violence and help professionals who engage directly with:
- children and young people to identify and respond to wellbeing needs
- children and young people who experience family violence from a family member
- young people who experience family violence in intimate partner, dating or casual relationships
- young people using family violence towards a family member or in an intimate, dating or casual relationships.
The guides will help all practitioners feel more confident when engaging with children and young people.
Across government, portfolios are proactively preparing their workforces to implement these Practice Guides. These efforts reflect a system-wide commitment to recognising children and young people as victim survivors and responding appropriately to young people who may be using family violence. This will ensure responses and support are appropriate to their needs.
To develop these resources, DFFH engaged with children and young people with lived/living experience, through a Youth Advisory Group. This collaboration supported the co-design of tailored resources that reflect the voices and needs of young people. In addition, the department worked with the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) and Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service (YWAHS). By partnering with these organisations, the guides will centre cultural safety and strengthen practice when working with Aboriginal people and communities. DFFH partnered with Swinburne University to undertake a study to develop related identification and assessment tools.
DFFH will build related risk assessment and management tools into online systems. These systems include the Tools for Risk Assessment and Management (TRAM) and Specialist Homelessness Information Platforms (SHIP), used by The Orange Door, specialist family violence services and housing and homelessness services.
The tools in online systems will allow the department to collect data to better understand the risks facing children and young people and how we can best respond to them.
The department is also developing a modular child and young person safety and wellbeing tool. The tool will be aligned to the Child and Young Person-focused MARAM Practice Guide, will be evidence-based, and incorporate family functioning and parenting capacity.
MARAM Annual Survey: leadership insights
The MARAM Annual Survey helps DFFH understand the progress of framework organisations and information sharing entities in understanding and using the reforms. Survey respondents come from a range of workforces, primarily within the human services and health sectors.
Most organisational and policy leaders who participated in the survey (90%) were aware it is a legislative requirement to align to MARAM.
Most (90%) said their workforce had the tools, resources, and training needed to meet their MARAM obligations. This is up from 77% the previous year.
More than half (58%) of leaders indicated their organisation had carried out some or all of their actions from their MARAM implementation plan.
However, there is room for improvement:
- There was a decrease in organisational leaders rating alignment to MARAM as a medium or high priority – down from 94% in 2023–24 to 73% in 2024–25.
- 55% of leaders are unsure or do not know if their organisation has or is adapting a change management plan to implement MARAM.
As in previous years, participants highlighted high workloads and a lack of time as a key barrier to implementing MARAM in their organisations.
Leadership plans for 2025–26
The Health portfolio will support truth-telling and justice initiatives. It will:
- respond to Yoorrook Justice Commission outcomes
- strengthen partnerships under Dhelk Dja
- advance the Balit Murrup framework.
This work aligns with the MARAM Framework’s focus on cultural safety, trauma-informed practice and workforce development. It ensures services meet the needs of Aboriginal communities.
Courts will work with DFFH to clarify how information sharing relates to the courts. DFFH is currently leading a review of the Family violence information sharing ministerial guidelines. These will include guidance and provide clarity of information sharing responsibilities for the courts.
DFFH will lead presentations and events to increase engagement with MARAM. This will boost shared understandings of family violence. This work includes:
- presenting at diversity networks across the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
- delivering department-wide webinars
- 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence
- MARAMIS Week 2025 (held in November 2025).
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