The Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (the family violence scheme, or FVISS) is designed to enable safe information sharing between professionals in a timely and effective manner to support effective assessment and management of family violence risk.
Child Protection is a prescribed information sharing entity under the Family Violence Information Sharing Act 2017. All child protection practitioners and managers have the delegation to carry out these functions. This includes community based child protection practitioners located within The Orange Door, and workers delegated to represent the Child Protection program on Risk Assessment and Management Panels (RAMPs).
See List of information sharing entities (ISEs) for prescribed entities under this scheme.
The family violence scheme is additional to the other legislative arrangements and processes for information sharing and privacy in relation to child protection clients (as provided for under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005, the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, and the Health Records Act 2001). It does not replace them.
Where information can be shared under the CYFA, child protection practitioners should share as appropriate, and record this in CRIS as usual, irrespective of being prescribed under this scheme.
Child Protection is able to share relevant information with other prescribed professionals to assess and manage the risk of family violence to children and adults, in addition to their existing information sharing capacities. They will be able to request, and respond to requests for, relevant information.
The scheme includes an obligation to respond to requests for information under the scheme from prescribed professionals and establishes certain information as ‘excluded information’.
The family violence scheme is articulated in the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme Ministerial Guidelines, which are legally binding for all prescribed information sharing entities (ISEs).
Open cases
There may be circumstances where the child protection practitioner does not have reasonable grounds to share the information under the CYFA.
For example, if the request is for information held by Child Protection in connection with a current client but is being sought to assess or manage family violence risk to another child or an adult not connected with a current child protection client, the CYFA may not apply.
The child protection practitioner should consult with their supervisor or team manager if there is doubt about whether the CYFA permits sharing the requested information.
The team manager may seek advice from the Information Sharing Team if required.
If the FVISS or CISS requirements are met, verify that the requester is a prescribed ISE, provide the information in a timely manner, and record the exchange in a case note in CRIS:
- select the case note type 'Information Sharing Scheme' (when available)
- use the subject 'Information Sharing Scheme exchange'. Record the exchange in a case note.
Where a child protection practitioner receives a request under the FVISS or CISS in relation to a current client, they must respond to the request by either:
- Sharing relevant information (in circumstances where the request meets the thresholds of the relevant scheme/s)
- Declining the request and notifying the requestor in writing of the reasons for declining the request (in circumstances where the request does not meet the thresholds of the relevant scheme/s).
See the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme – Record keeping obligations guide.
Closed cases
If the request relates to information held about a closed case, the requester should be advised to make the request in writing by submitting a webform request to the Information Sharing Team.
Determining how to share family violence information
Refer to the following guides to step through the process of responding to a request for information under the FVISS.
Declining a request for information
Child Protection may determine that the request doesn’t meet the thresholds of either the CISS or FVISS, or that certain information it holds in relation to a child is excluded information because sharing it could be reasonably expected to, for example, prejudice an investigation.
Careful consideration is required before declining a request from another ISE for information. In consultation with the team manager, prompt advice should be sought from the Information Sharing Team in the first instance.
If Child Protection declines a request from another information sharing entity to disclose information, the request and why it was declined is to be recorded in the client file as an information sharing request case note type, and the requesting ISE is to be provided with the reasons in writing.
Further information on the FVISS is located on the department’s internet site.
For assistance with how to handle specific requests for family violence information, Child Protection Practitioners may refer to the Information Sharing Team SharePoint site or contact the Information Sharing Team by email at info.exchange@dffh.vic.gov.au.
- Information sharing in child protection practice
- Child Information Sharing Scheme and Child Protection
- Freedom of information
- Breaches of privacy
- List of Information Sharing Entities (ISEs)
- Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme- Ministerial Guidelines
- Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme – Record keeping obligations guide
- Information Sharing Team SharePoint site
- WOVG Information Sharing schemes website