Information sharing and family violence reforms move to Phase 2 in Victoria

Phase Two of important information sharing and family violence reforms will commence on Monday 19 April 2021 for Victorian early childhood education and care (ECEC) services with briefings and workshops available until early April 2021. 

The reforms are aimed at promoting the wellbeing and safety of children by sharing information and collaborating with other professionals across the service system. 

During phase two, the number of Victorian professionals who work with children and families who will have permission to share information with other authorised professionals will expand, and more ECEC workforces will be prescribed to use: 

• the Child Information Sharing Scheme
• the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme
• the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework.

Authorised professionals, including staff from kindergartens, long day care centres, outside school hours care services, schools and education based health, wellbeing and inclusion professionals will be able to access information about the children they work with, making it easier to identify wellbeing or safety needs earlier, and to act on them sooner. 

ECEC services can use the following resources, from the PROTECT webpage to prepare for the implementation of phase two of the reforms, and learn how to share information appropriately:

• Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms Contextualised Guidance
• Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms Toolkit.

Briefings and online modules for education and care workforces are now available, with ECEC services asked to adapt and use these resources in line with existing requirements and procedures.

The Victorian Department of Education and Training is offering free weekly briefings and workshops via Webex, with session times available throughout the day. Those wishing to access the briefing (for staff implementing the reforms) and workshops (for staff who will be sharing information) are encouraged to register for sessions using the links provided above. 

Additional resources will be made available by the Department, including professional workshops and eLearning modules, as the year progresses. 

Further information can be found here, or by contacting the Child Information Sharing Team on childinfosharing@edumail.vic.gov.au