Updated monthly, the MARAM Training Calendar lists all upcoming training for AOD clinicians, practitioners, team leaders, managers and CEOs. It also included foundational training in the dynamics of family violence and Information Sharing Schemes.

You can view and download it here.

To assist us in building our Community of Practice calendar for 2022-2023 we are asking if you could take 5 - 10 minutes to complete our annual Family Violence AOD Community of Practice survey. 

The survey will let you decide which issues you’d like the COP to address, as well as asking how confident you feel about various aspects of MARAM, Information Sharing and the family violence reform agenda. The idea is that we can use COP activities in 22-23 to build capacity in areas where confidence might be low.

Your participation will be completely anonymous, and a report with aggregated findings will be sent to Family Safety Victoria and be made available via the VAADA website for all COP members to access. 

To complete the survey, click here. 

Risk assessments with victim survivors - Safe and Equal

Risk Assessments help us understand the level of risk experienced by the victim survivor we're working with – what does best practice look?

Wednesday 16 November 2022
10am - 11.30am

The MARAM Practice Guides for working with victim survivors places performing Risk Assessments as core business for AOD clinicians (see Responsibility 3). Which questions should we be asking our clients when identifying risk within their story? How do we assess the level of risk, and what is its evidence base?

What does applying a Structured Professional Judgement look like, and what can we ask to ensure we’re embedding an intersectional analysis into our inclusive practice? When should we use the Brief tool, instead of the Intermediate?

Join us on Wednesday 16 November, 10am-11.30am as we work through performing Risk Assessments with clients identified as Victim Survivors. Leading the session will be Safe+Equal, the peak body for specialist family violence services that provide support to victim survivors in Victoria, who will perform a series of case studies and role-plays to learn first-hand what best practice might look like.

Register here

Please bring any case examples and questions to the session so that our specialist family violence experts can help you sharpen your practice.

MARAM Identification of family violence against older people (Elder Abuse) – victim survivor focused eLearn

The course discusses family violence against older people (elder abuse). The modules have been developed to assist practitioners understand and use the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework and Information Schemes in their everyday work with older people.

Each of the three modules takes approximately 20 minutes to complete, and includes: Understanding Family Violence, Understanding Elder Abuse, your MARAM practice responsibilities and role in Responding to Family Violence including Safety Planning. The aim of this eLearn course is to tailor the screening and identification MARAM level of responsibility specifically to the aged care workforce, to strengthen their response to family violence elder abuse risk.

To access this course: 

• Go to:
  https://training.infosharing.vic.gov.au
• Sign up for an account (if you do not have one) 
• Select ‘Families Fairness and Housing Workforces’ (DFFH) 
• Select ‘eLearn: MARAM Identification of family violence against older people (Elder Abuse) – victim survivor focused eLearn’. Select ‘Enrol me’ 

Elevate! 

The Victorian Government has provided support to VAADA to administer a fully-funded, centralised workforce development program for the AOD sector until December 2022. This training and professional development program - Elevate! - is available to all AOD workforce currently employed within funded AOD services across Victoria. 

Upcoming live training you may be interested in:

New self-paced eLearns:

• Supervisee Training for the AOD sector
• AOD Worker Wellbeing
• Introduction to Trauma Informed Care

Click here to view all training

MARAM Training

eLearn: MARAM Brief and Intermediate eLearn course for practitioners working with victim survivors

• Provider: Department of Health

• Delivery mode: eLearning self-paced (three modules, each module 20-25 minutes)

• The modules cover: a shared understanding of family violence, an introduction to MARAM and the assessment tools, the Structured Professional Judgement model, risk assessment, risk management including working with specialist family violence services and safety planning.

• Register here

Unsure which MARAM training is right for you? Consult the MARAM training decision tree.

Ibac to investigate Victorian police responses to family violence

"Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog will seek to expose inappropriate police responses to family violence, as well as probe “predatory behaviour incidents” involving officers, as one of its six key areas of focus over the coming year." Read more on The Guardian.

Energy retailers will need to protect family violence victims in new rules

"the Australian Energy Market Commission has published new rules that will ensure energy retailers play their part in preventing that exploitation and provide support to their customers who are affected by domestic and family violence." Read more on Women's Agenda.

When it comes to family violence, young women are too often ignored

"Recent evidence shows the scale of sexual violence against women and children in Australia has been severely underestimated. Family violence is a key driver." Read more on The Conversation.

Women who suffer domestic violence fare much worse financially after separating from their partner: new data

"We found women who experienced domestic violence fared much worse financially after separating from their partner compared to those who didn’t face such violence, for women both with and without children." Read more on The Conversation.

Apparent rise in use of fire in domestic violence attacks must be investigated, expert says

"The apparent increase in the use of fire, petrol “dousing” or related threats by perpetrators of domestic and family violence requires greater attention from researchers and authorities, one of Australia’s leading legal experts on domestic violence says." Read more on The Guardian.

Almost 9 in 10 young Australians who use family violence experienced child abuse: new research

"We also found it was very common for young people who had used family violence to have experienced family violence themselves – at least 89% of young people in our study who had used family violence reported experiencing child abuse." Read more on The Conversation.

MARAM Person Using Violence Guides: What Now? Web Series

All recordings for No To Violence's webinar series -  "What Now?" - are now available to view online. These webinars were designed and delivered to help workforces familiarise themselves with the MARAM Practice Guides for working with adults using violence. These webinars do not place any upcoming MARAM training. Click here for more information.

NTV: Updated Referral Pathways

No To Violence have updated their referral pathways for working with people using violence. The update to their resource page also includes two new helpful documents:

• Types of program referrals – a table with different types of program referrals and conversation prompts
• Making specialist referrals for people using violence – tips on making referrals when working with adult clients who are using violence

For more information, see their Referral pathways resource page and click on the “Referral Pathways General Information” drop-down banner. The page also includes a map/list of relevant referral services. 

Supporting Women’s Financial Safety: A Guide to Prevention and Action on Financial Abuse within the Financial Service Sector

User-friendly checklists for financial service organisations to better understand, prevent and address financial abuse. See here. (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet)

Specialist Family Violence Advisers Capacity Building Program Fact Sheet

No to Violence has created a helpful fact sheet to explain and promote the roles and responsibilities of the Victorian Specialist Family Violence Advisors. You can view/download here. 

ANROWS: Family law parenting orders, breaches and their impact on children

Monday 24 October 2022, 1pm-2.30pm
Online

What drives non-compliance with family law parenting orders? This webinar launches the second and final report within Compliance with and enforcement of family law parenting orders. Conducted with the Australian Institute of Family Studies, this research examines how the parenting order enforcement regime is working in Australia. Read more and register. 

Guide on the Treatment of Relationship Debt

Guide for separating couples, including those experiencing financial abuse, to safely achieve fair outcomes when dividing responsibility for joint and other debts. (Attorney Generals Department)

If in doubt, remember to consult the MARAM Navigator on the VAADA website, or reach out to your Specialist Family Violence Advisers for a consult. 

MARAM and Information Sharing

Contact the Information Sharing and MARAM Enquiry Line for practice and policy guidance.

• 1800 549 646 (10am-2pm, Mon-Fri)

Contact the Specialist Family Violence Adviser in your area

• See the VAADA website for contact details

Contact us if you're unsure and we'll help refer you; familyviolence@vaada.org.au