Territory Families rejects draft recommendations to review Family Safety Framework

Territory Families has rejected calls to review the safety net which is meant to protect women at ‘high risk of serious injury or death’.

Women and children are “falling through the cracks” of a safety net meant to protect domestic violence victims at chronic risk of being murdered by their loved ones.

Territory Families has rejected recommendations to review and expand its Family Safety Framework, a cross-agency response team to protect abuse victims at “high risk of serious injury or death”.

The NT framework, which was launched 12 years ago, has come under intense scrutiny amid Australia’s largest ever coronial review into domestic violence homicides.

The NT coroner Elisabeth Armitage repeatedly highlighted that despite all four women suffering an extensive history of violence, only one was ever formally admitted into the FSF.

Coroner Elisabeth Armitage outside Darwin Local Court. Picture: Zizi Averill

Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer said there were “failings (within the FSF) that are all too common and suggest the need for fresh thinking on how to address the gaps”.

While domestic violence expert Chay Brown said there needed to be additional funding to help “those who are never deemed high risk enough to make it on (the FSF) in the first place”.

“I also do think it needs a review. I think it needs to be strengthened … particularly when people are not accepted under FSF, what then happens to those people.

“What is the safety plan we’re doing around that?

In a major review of the NT’s domestic violence information sharing scheme, Information Commissioner Peter Shoyer echoed these calls.

Information Commissioner Peter Shoyer made a draft recomendations to review the NT’s Family Safety Framework.

In the March report Mr Shoyer called for a review of the FSF’s structure, policies, processes and performance given the “extraordinary levels of domestic violence reporting facing the NT”.

He made a draft recommendation for the FSF to consider a second tier for family violence cases to avoid victims “falling through the cracks”.

“Or alternatively another form of coordination and collaboration to ensure that victims who fail to meet the current FSF threshold are still supported,” he said.

The 200-strong crowd outside Alice Springs Court House joined a Territory-wide day of action in Tuesday calling for domestic violence funding reform.

“Such a review and any subsequent change will require additional allocated resources.”

Territory Families rejected the draft recommendation, stating that “the Family Safety Framework is not planned to be subject to formal review”.

Territory Families Minister Ngaree Ah Kit outside of the NT Parliament. Picture: Zizi Averill

Territory Families Minister Ngaree Ah Kit said the FSF was designed to address the highest risk cases, however help was available to women and children falling below this threshold.

“Victim-survivors not assessed as being at ‘serious risk’ under the Common Risk Assessment Tool, can still be referred for the support and services they need,” Ms Ah Kit said.

She said an additional $20m had been invested over two years under the latest Domestic Violence Action Plan — $160m short of the five-year funding model proposed by the government’s own expert panel.

“This ($20m) includes funding for Regional Coordinators to work with local services to support Information Sharing Entities,” Ms Ah Kit said.