Flaws revealed in family safety hub

THE State Auditor-General’s office has probed the chaotic rollout of a Geelong family violence hub in a revealing report.

Between May and November 2018, Family Safety Victoria launched five hubs, known as the Orange Door, including one in Geelong.

The Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2016 recommended establishing 17 support and safety hubs, and the State Government committed $448.1 million over four years from 2017–18 to deliver.

The hubs aim to provide a single contact point for adults and children experiencing family violence.

The Auditor-General report found FSV’s planning for the first five hubs “lacked detail and set unrealistic timelines for key projects.”

“None of the first five hubs opened with a full workforce, contributing to a backlog of cases,” it said.

“Due to FSV’s difficulties in finding appropriate sites, facilities at Barwon and Bayside were not ready when they opened, forcing staff to work in contingency sites.”

Barwon workers spent seven months without access to their full site, the report said.

“Hubs are not yet realising their full potential to improve the lives of people affected by family violence and families needing support with their children,” the report said.

“This is because their service co-ordination is not yet consistently effective or efficient. A rushed implementation schedule and a lack of detailed project planning meant FSV opened the first five hubs before they had all the infrastructure, processes or staff needed to meet demand.

“As a result, some people have waited months to receive support.”

The report found across the five open hubs, FSV had not done enough to support practitioners to give their clients timely, co-ordinated help.

“Given the volume of work still required and the challenge of opening 12 hubs in less than three years, the risk remains that FSV will launch hubs that are not fully prepared to support clients,” it said.

The report found the Barwon hub received an average of 274 new weekly cases.

FSV plans to launch 12 more hubs by 2022.

The report said FSV had improved its approach, reducing the likelihood the issues that hindered the first hubs would recur.

Barwon and Mallee hubs have not experienced ongoing issues, the report said.

The Department of Health and Human Services accepted all nine of the Auditor-General report’s recommendations and provided an action plan.

HUBS ARE NOT YET REALISING THEIR FULL POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY FAMILY VIOLENCE AND FAMILIES NEEDING SUPPORT WITH THEIR CHILDREN.” AUDITOR-GENERAL REPORT