The below acronyms and terms are used throughout the MARAM, Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS) and Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS), and are defined below:
| Acronyms (if any) |
Term | Definition |
| AFM | Affected Family Member (AFM) | The individual who is deemed to be affected by events occurring during the family incident. |
| Alleged perpetrator | A person who is alleged to pose a risk of committing family violence. Information about alleged perpetrators can only be shared with risk assessment entities for a family violence assessment purpose | |
| Child | A person who is under the age of 18 years | |
| CISS | Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) | Established under Part 6a of the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic), aiming to promote child wellbeing and safety |
| Family Violence Assessment purpose | Only RAEs conduct Family Violence Assessments for the purpose of establishing and assessing the level of risk of family violence. This assessment confirms the correct identification of a perpetrator and victim survivor. This is where an alleged perpetrator can be identified as perpetrator. | |
| Family violence protection purpose | All ISEs may share with the purpose of managing family violence risk of a perpetrator or a victim survivor. As family violence risk is subject to change, this purpose includes the ongoing assessment of risk that is required to ensuring safety planning remains relevant. | |
| FSV | Family Safety Victoria (FSV) | An agency established in July 2017 leading the implementation of many of the government’s family violence reforms |
| FVISS | Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme | Established under part 5A of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) enabling collaborative assessment and management family violence risk |
| ISE | Information Sharing Entity | A person or body prescribed, or a class of person or body prescribed, to be an information sharing entity |
| L17 | The Victoria Police Risk Assessment and Management Report that Victoria Police are required to complete after they have attended a family violence incident. The report is completed when family violence incidents, interfamilial-related sexual offences and child abuse are reported to police | |
| MARAM Framework | Multi Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework | MARAM guides services in assessing and managing the risk of family violence. The MARAM Framework replaces the CRAF (Common Risk Assessment Framework) |
| Perpetrator | In the MARAM and other reform documentation, a person is considered a perpetrator if an RAE has assessed that there is a risk that the person commits family violence. This will have been identified through undertaking a MARAM Framework-aligned or recognised family violence risk assessment.
In collaboration with the AOD sector, VAADA developed a statement of principles, which outlines alternative terminology and language that is inclusive, non-judgemental, and non-discriminatory. It labels the behaviour rather than the person. As such where possible this resource uses the terminology: person who uses violence. |
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| RAE | Risk Assessment Entity | An information sharing entity also prescribed to be a Risk Assessment Entity (RAE). RAEs can request and receive information from any ISE for a family violence assessment or protection purpose. |
| Reasonable belief | Reasonable belief requires the existence of facts that are sufficient to induce the belief in a reasonable person. Belief requires something more than suspicion. | |
| Substance use coercion | Abusive tactics targeted towards a partner’s substance use as part of a broader pattern of abuse and control. A form of family violence whereby the perpetrator controls a victim survivor’s use of substance/s. This includes providing or withholding access to substances. (Warshaw C. & Tinnon E., 2018) | |
| Victim survivor | In the MARAM and other reform documentation, a person is considered a victim survivor if they have express they have experienced family violence, and/or if an ISE reasonably believes there is risk that the person may be subjected to family violence. For clarity, the term victim survivor refers to both adult and child victim survivors.
In collaboration with the AOD sector, VAADA developed a statement of principles, which outlines alternative terminology and language that is inclusive, non-judgemental, and non-discriminatory. As such where possible this resource uses the terminology: person who experiences or is affected by family violence. |