The Orange Door: follow-up

Why this is important

Family violence remains a significant social and public policy issue in Victoria, with 93,115 family violence incidents reported in 2022–23 (compared to 82,647 in 2018–19).

In 2016, the Royal Commission into Family Violence (the Royal Commission) recommended that the Victorian Government establish Support and Safety Hubs (Hubs) to consolidate support provision for both victims and perpetrators of family violence into a single service.

The program was publicly renamed 'The Orange Door' in 2020 to create simplified and consistent statewide branding. In 2022–23, The Orange Door provided services to 190,000 Victorians, including 81,000 children (up from 128,000 Victorians, including 53,000 children, in 2021–22).

The Orange Door network providers must comply with common standards of service delivery, quality, data reporting and governance as set by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) through Family Safety Victoria. The delivery model is underpinned by a standardised Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework, which sets common assessment, referral and case management standards and approaches.

Successful implementation of The Orange Door, as a single point of access and immediate multi disciplinary response to family violence, is a foundational element of the government's family violence reforms.

In 2020, VAGO undertook an audit of the first 5 established Hubs in Barwon, Mallee, North East Melbourne Area, Bayside Peninsula and Inner Gippsland (Managing Support and Safety Hubs). This audit made 9 recommendations covering service planning, operations, performance monitoring and governance.

The program has since been fully rolled out, with Hubs operating across all 17 of the DFFH departmental regions. As DFFH has reported that it has implemented the recommendations from the 2020 audit, a follow-up is timely.

What we plan to examine

We plan to examine DFFH’s implementation of the recommendations from the 2020 engagement Managing Support and Safety Hubs.

Who we plan to examine

DFFH.