Collect data on the cost of family violence to government, communities and individuals

The Department of Premier and Cabinet has undertaken a project to examine the current costs of family violence to government, the community and individuals. This involved analysing the cost to government using data initially provided to the Royal Commission into Family Violence, and where possible addressing the issues and inconsistencies identified in this data and compiling more robust information. Similar analysis and improvements were also applied to our understanding of the cost of family violence to the community and individuals.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is also seeking to remedy existing data gaps and limitations over the longer term and develop a consistent methodology to improve data collection and reporting regarding family violence prevention and response, and introduce requirements for departments and agencies to consistently report on the cost of family violence each year.

This work is designed to improve our ability to consistently measure the cost of family violence in the future, using a robust evidence base to inform the way government designs services and makes investment decisions.

This recommendation has been implemented.

The Family Violence Cost initiative commenced in October 2016 and concluded in March 2017, providing an estimate of the cost of family violence in Victoria in 2015–16 and identifying opportunities to improve data collection in future years. A summary of this report was published on the Government’s Family Violence website.

The implementation of this recommendation allows for further work to reform services to reduce the cost of family violence to government, the community and individuals.

Work has been undertaken to determine the most appropriate way for reporting on the cost of family violence, including consistent data collection approaches.

Implemented.