1. Family Safety Framework
Nicole Lionnet
Senior Policy Officer – Women’s Safety
Office for Women

2. outline
1. Context of initiative -WSS
2. Main elements of the FSF
• Family Safety Meetings
• Risk Assessment
• Information Sharing
3. Where to from here? More information?

3. History
• 2005 - Women’s Safety Strategy
• Whole of Govt Reference Group
• Community consultation
• MARAC – UK
• 2006 - Cabinet endorsement
• FSF Implementation Committee set up –
core agencies
• 2007 - 3 trial sites established
• 2008 – Evaluation Report (OCSAR)

4. Evaluation Nov 2008
• Conducted by OCSAR
Majority of victims were assessed as safer
as a result of the Family Safety Meeting
intervention
• 62% of victims went from high risk to low
risk
• ¾ of referrals that remained in SA had no
police record of re victimisation for at least
3 months

5. WSS - 2012
FSF integral to:
• Senior Research Officer – Coroner’s
Office, Heidi Ehrat
• New DV legislation – Intervention Orders
(Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009

6. Aims
Aim – Integrated Service Responses
• enhancing victim safety, for women and
children at high risk of serious harm or
death due to domestic violence.
• Increase perpetrator accountability
• Reduce repeat victimisation
Coordinated, appropriate, consistent
responses

7. Regions
Regions align with Police Local Service Areas
Family Safety Meetings currently at:
Metro:
Holden Hill; South Coast – Noarlunga; Western – Pt Adelaide;
Northern – Elizabeth; Inner Southern – Sturt; Adelaide Eastern
Country/regional:
• Pt Augusta; Pt Pirie; Limestone Coast – Mt Gambier; Riverland -
Berri
2012
• Murray Bridge
• Pt Lincoln
• Coober Pedy – FSMs started in October
Statewide implementation by Dec 2013

8. Agencies
Core agency involvement:
• SAPOL
• Families SA
• Housing SA
• Education Department (DECD)
• Health (Primary, Acute, Women’s & Aboriginal Health)
• Adult Mental Health Services
• Drug & Alcohol Services (DASSA)
• Correctional Services
• Women’s Domestic Violence Services
• Victim Support Service

9. 3 Elements
1. Common Risk Assessment
2. The Family Safety Meeting
3. Information Sharing

10. Process
1. Determine whether the offender poses a
significant risk
2. Refer case to Family Safety Meeting
3. Agencies research the case at hand
4. Relevant information brought to Family
Safety Meeting
5. Jointly construct and implement a multi
agency positive action plan
6. Review plan

11. Risk Assessment
What is Risk Assessment?
• Where a professional attempts to assess
the degree of harm or injury likely to ensue
from family violence, including homicide.
• Risk Indicators
• Victim’s prediction
• DV related deaths are preventable

12. Common Risk Assessment
FSF
• relies on common understandings of risk among
agencies
• Research indicates commonalities of risk –
domestic homicide. These relate to:
• Nature of abuse, patterns of behaviour, victim’s
perception of risk, aggravating factors such as
mental health, drug and alcohol use and other
factors such as separation, pregnancy, child
contact, cultural vulnerabilities

13. Risk Indicators
• Recent separation or plans to separate
• Victim predicts that offender could harm or kill her/children
• History of violence to family member/s
• Level and frequency of violence has increased
• Offender has attempted to strangle victim
• Offender has threatened to kill/harm family members in recent incident, inc verbalised
plans
• Offender has access to weapons
• History of violence towards non family members
• Increase in controlling behaviour eg isolating, stalking, obsessive behaviour, jealousy
• Harm to family pets
• History of substance abuse
• History of mental health issues
• Custody and access issues
• Pregnancy
• Cultural vulnerabilities – ATSI and CALD.
• Does victim speak no/little English?

14. Family Safety Meetings
What is an FSM?
•Local meeting of relevant services
•Held fortnightly
•Referral of high risk cases
•Share information and implement a multi
agency Positive Action Plan
•Referrals via SAPOL Chair

15. Actions
Include:
• DV Services support/liaison
• SAPOL actions, safety plans, IO’s, warrants, advising
victim re police bail and court outcomes
• Joint visits, eg SAPOL and DV Services
• Liaison with schools re children’s safety
• Monitoring of bail conditions, prison status checks
• Flagging of various systems
• Housing needs assessment, bond assistance
• Provision of assistance of security screens and duress
alarms
• Mental health assessments & referrals

16. Let’s have a look at the FSF Risk
Assessment Form

17. Women’s assessment of risk
• Vital that we hear and respond to women’s
fears.
• Some women can minimise the violence
• Risk assessment literature (Dutton and Kropp,
2002) suggests that women are not likely to
overestimate risk, but they may underestimate it.
• If she says she is in danger she must be
believed. Risk assessment can help to clarify the
nature and imminence of the threat.

18. Referral Process
• Complete Risk Assessment Form
• Establish imminent high risk
• Fill out FSF Referral Form
• Email Referral Form and Risk
Assessment Form to SAPOL Chair
in region
FSF Forms available on Office for
Women website

19. Still Not Sure?
• Use Form in conjunction with other info
• Use professional judgement
• Speak to supervisor
• Speak to SAPOL or DV Service

20. Support for Info Sharing
• Privacy Committee of SA
• Identification of High Risk
• Informed consent - always the preferred
response
• If no consent – still able to share information
as part of duty of care in high risk DV cases
where victim at risk of serious harm or death

21. What to tell the victim?
Tell her:
• You are asking for information due to concerns
for her safety.
• Professional duty of care
• About FSM – agencies sharing info to help
reduce risk (Handout: Appendix 8)
• Ask for consent to share info
• No consent – if high risk will still share
information
• Record if no consent & reasons on referral & in
file

22. Where to go for more information
• FSF Practice Manual and forms are available to
down load:
www.officeforwomen.sa.gov.au
Or contact
Nicole Lionnet
Office for Women
Ph: 8303 0599
Email: nicole.lionnet@dcsi.sa.gov.au

23. SAPOL Chairs (Oct 12)
Metro –Officer in Charge of FVIU
• Adelaide Eastern – Warren Manship & David Coultate – 8172 5892
• Sturt – Mike Richardson - 8207 4801
• Holden Hill –Peter Weber, Michelle Collise – 8207 6033
• Pt Adelaide – Tracey Moody – 8207 6387
• Elizabeth – Brenton Tester, Gill Shaw– 8207 9386
• South Coast ––Bernadette Martin - 8392 9102
Country
• Pt Pirie – Rachel Lonnie, Julianne Fowler – 8638-4000
• Pt Augusta – David Davies, Samantha Formby - 8648 5019
• Limestone Coast – Anthony Scott – 8735 1006
• Riverland (Berri) - Simone Gardner - 8595 2017
• Murray Bridge - Andrew Bissell - 8535 6006 Tracy Foster & Charisse
Cooper - 8535 6013
• Pt Lincoln - Mary Octoman – 86883022 and Sonya Bryson – 86883007
• Coober Pedy – Micheal Clark - 8672 5489 (also Samantha Formby - 8648
5019 & Nicole Rooney - 8648 5024 from Port Augusta Family Violence
Section)