Integrated Service Responses
Responsible government
- Queensland
Fourth Action Plan actions
- Improve support and service system responses
- 17 Collaborate across services, sectors and workforces to ensure responses to women affected by domestic, family and sexual violence are coordinated, meet women’s needs, avoid women having to retell their story and promote their recovery.
What are we doing?
The Department of Justice and Attorney-General is leading work across government and the community to design, implement and test holistic and integrated approaches to improving the safety of domestic and family violence victims and their children while holding perpetrators to account for their violence.
The Queensland Government is continuing to embed integrated service responses to ensure people affected by domestic and family violence receive quality and consistent support through a collaborative service system.
What have we achieved so far?
Invested $26.3 million over four years from 2015 to develop and strengthen integrated service responses, including trials in three locations that focus on how service systems can work together in a timely, structured and collaborative way. The trials included high risk teams, consisting of members from multiple government and non-government agencies collaborating to provide integrated, culturally appropriate safety responses to women and their children who are at risk of serious harm or lethality, while holding perpetrators to account.
A Common Risk and Safety Framework and risk assessment tools were developed and implemented to support integrated service responses and high risk teams (ISR/HRTs).
Following the successful trial, eight funded ISR/HRT locations have transitioned from stand-up phase to an ‘embed and sustain’ approach. An evaluation of the trial identified recommendations to inform and improve Queensland’s model for integrated responses to domestic and family violence. In response to that evaluation, a multi-agency work plan is being implemented that includes reviewing, refining and validating the existing Common Risk and Safety Framework and associated risk assessment tools, as well as the ISR/HRT model.
Eight Domestic and Family Violence Senior Project Officer roles have been established by the Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships to work alongside the ISR/HRTs to provide a cultural conduit for advice and referral to services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing domestic and family violence.
What is next?
Upcoming milestones include:
- Release of version 2 of the Common Risk and Safety Framework;
- Continuing to embed a culture of continuous improvement and best practice, including building partnerships and engaging in genuine in co-design processes with local place-based service systems.
What difference will we make?
Indicators of expected improvements include:
- Enhanced service system responses to improving victim safety;
- Enhanced service system responses to perpetrator accountability;
- Provision of culturally-appropriate wraparound services that meet the needs of clients.