Family violence

Family violence multi-agency risk assessment and management framework

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Helping to create a more collaborative, integrated system to support improved safety and wellbeing outcomes for all Victorians.

The Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM)  has been designed to increase the safety and wellbeing of Victorians by supporting relevant services to identify, assess and manage family violence risk effectively. The MARAM Framework can be used by all services that come into contact with individuals and families experiencing family violence. The MARAM sets out key principles and framework pillars that should be embedded into policies, procedures, service delivery and practice, and identifies the responsibilities of various organisations and staff across the system.

The Framework has been established in Part 11 of the Family Violence Protection Act. It creates the system architecture and accountability mechanisms required to establish a system-wide approach to and shared responsibility for family violence risk assessment and management. This is achieved by incorporating the Framework and accompanying principles and pillars into law, regulation, policy (through this MARAM Framework) and supporting materials and practice guides. The MARAM Framework aims to establish a system-wide shared understanding of family violence. It will guide professionals across the continuum of service responses, across the range of presentations and spectrum of risk. It will provide information and resources that professionals need to keep victim survivors safe, and to keep perpetrators in view and hold them accountable for their actions.

It covers all aspects of service delivery from early identification, screening, risk assessment and management, to safety planning, collaborative practice, stabilisation and recovery. The MARAM Framework provides policy guidance to organisations that have responsibilities in assessing and managing family violence risk, including those that have been prescribed under regulation as Framework organisations.

The objectives of the MARAM Framework are to:

  • increase the safety of people experiencing family violence
  • ensure the broad range of experiences across the spectrum of seriousness and presentations of risk are represented, including for Aboriginal and diverse communities, children, young people and older people, across identities, and family and relationships types
  • keep perpetrators in view and to hold them accountable for their actions and behaviours
  • guide alignment with the Framework for use across a broader range of organisations and sectors who will have responsibilities to identify, assess and respond to family violence risk
  • ensure consistent use of the Framework across these organisations and sectors.

Aligning practices, procedures and policies to the MARAM isa gradual process, with organisations beginning from different starting points and continuing to improve over time. It is expected that organisations continue to mature in their MARAM practice over time, embedding it into business as usual processes and aligning it to other key priority areas with their business operations and policies.

MARAM is rolled out in alignment with the Child and Family Violence information sharing schemes.

For more information on the information sharing schemes, see the Information sharing page or the Information sharing schemes and the MARAM framework page on the Vic.Gov website.

MARAM training

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing has developed MARAM training for each of the Identification, Intermediate and Comprehensive level responsibilities for practitioners.

This training supports practitioners to understand their responsibilities under this important reform, including what it means for their day-to-day practice.

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  • Identification

    For practitioners in Antenatal Services, Care Services (formerly known as Out of Home Care services) and Maternal and Child Health who have roles that align at the Identification level of MARAM.

    Training relevant staff is a requirement for organisations who are aligning their policies and procedures to the MARAM framework. 

    Practitioners at the Identification level are identified as:

    • having roles that address universal needs of service-users and whose primary function is not related to family violence
    • they are in a position to identify or screen for family violence.

    MARAM Screening and Identification guide (word)

  • Intermediate

    For practitioners in Designated Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug and Homelessness services, the Orange Door and Family Services who have roles that align at the Intermediate level of MARAM.

    Training relevant staff is a requirement for organisations who are aligning their policies and procedures to the MARAM framework.

    Practitioners at the Intermediate level are identified as:

    • having roles associated with family violence risk assessment and management in their usual work
    • engaging with people in crisis situations or cohorts who are at high risk of experiencing or using family violence
    • involving therapeutic intervention, a crisis service, case management support or broader needs assessment and management
    • having the ability to incorporate addressing family violence risk assessment and management in to their usual work.

    MARAM Brief and Intermediate Practitioner guide (word)

Other training

Government has funded a number of targeted training packages:

  • Safe and Equal facilitate Identification, Intermediate and Comprehensive level MARAM training, focused on working with victim survivors
  • No To Violence facilitate Identification, Intermediate and Comprehensive level MARAM training, focused on working with adults using family violence
  • Safe and Equal facilitate an Applying MARAM to your Workplace training for department employees.

Local Principal Strategic Advisors deliver Collaborative Practice and other speciailsed training packages in each of the department regions across the state. To help you understand your organisational and staff responsibilities under MARAM, and identify the right training sessions for your staff, see the MARAM responsibilities: Decision guide for organisational leaders available at MARAM practice guides and resources.

To register for training, see relevant page on either the Safe and Equal or No To Violence websites. 

For further information, please contact the DFFH Information Sharing and MARAM Implementation team infosharing@dffh.vic.gov.au.

MARAM practice guides

You can access the MARAM practice guides from the MARAM practice guides and resources page of the Vic.Gov website, including: 

  • Foundational Knowledge guide
  • Responsibilities for Practice Guides 1 to 10.

Foundational Knowledge guide

This guide underpins all MARAM responsibilities for practice. It outlines key elements of the MARAM Framework, the service system, the evidence-based family violence risk factors that underpin all levels of risk assessment practice, and presentations of risk across different age groups, Aboriginal and diverse communities. The Foundational Knowledge Guide is required reading for all professionals including those in direct practice roles, leadership, governance, management and supervision. It includes information on working with both victim survivors and adults using family violence.

Responsibilities for Practice Guides 1 to 10

Guides 1 to 10 reflect each of the ten responsibilities set out in the MARAM. These guides build on Foundational Knowledge to provide practice guidance from safe engagement, identification of risk, through to levels of risk assessment and management, secondary consultation and referral, information sharing, and multi-agency and coordinated practice. The practice guides also inform how the MARAM risk assessment tools are used. Professionals should work with their organisational leaders to understand their role and to identify which responsibilities they should be applying in practice.

For further information, please contact the DFFH Information Sharing and MARAM Implementation team infosharing@dffh.vic.gov.au.