When a person’s safety is at risk from family violence, the flow of information between agencies can be the difference between effective intervention and a missed warning sign. Victoria’s Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme — known as FVISS — is the legal framework that governs how and when that information can move, and which organisations are permitted to share it.
This explainer sets out the core architecture of the scheme: who is authorised to participate, what categories of information can be shared, when consent is required and when it is not, and how FVISS sits alongside the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management framework, better known as MARAM.
The legislative foundation #
FVISS was established under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic), significantly strengthened by the Family Violence Protection Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2017, which gave effect to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The scheme commenced in February 2018 and was progressively expanded in subsequent years to bring in more prescribed organisations.
The scheme operates alongside — and is designed to be read with — the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS), which governs information sharing focused on the wellbeing and safety of children. Both schemes share a common risk-assessment backbone through MARAM.
Who can share information under FVISS #
Not every organisation can participate. FVISS operates through two categories of prescribed organisation: Information Sharing Entities (ISEs) and Risk Assessment Entities (RAEs).
An ISE is authorised to share and receive confidential information for the purpose of assessing or managing family violence risk. The list of prescribed ISEs is broad and includes Victoria Police, Child Protection, public housing authorities, community health services, family violence services, sexual assault services, drug and alcohol services, mental health services, general practitioners, hospitals, schools, and a wide range of community sector organisations.
An RAE holds a higher level of authority. In addition to everything an ISE can do, an RAE is authorised to request information from other ISEs and RAEs to conduct a holistic risk assessment. RAEs include specialist family violence services, Victoria Police, Child Protection, and a smaller number of other organisations with dedicated risk-assessment functions. The distinction matters: only an RAE can compel another prescribed entity to disclose relevant information it holds.
Organisations that are not prescribed under the scheme — such as some private practitioners or businesses outside the defined categories — cannot participate formally, though they may still have obligations under other legislation to report concerns.
What information can be shared #
FVISS authorises the sharing of confidential information — that is, information that would not otherwise be shareable because of a duty of confidentiality, privacy obligations, or professional secrecy rules. This includes health information, counselling records, case notes, risk assessments, and client disclosures.
There are, however, firm exclusions. Information that is subject to legal professional privilege cannot be shared under FVISS. Likewise, information obtained by Victoria Police during a criminal investigation that is not yet publicly available sits outside the scheme in certain circumstances, and police must apply separate legal frameworks when determining what operational intelligence can be disclosed.
The purpose of any share must be connected to one of two functions: assessing or managing the risk of family violence to an adult victim-survivor or a child. Information cannot be shared under FVISS for a general welfare purpose unrelated to risk — that would fall under CISS or other legislative gateways.
When consent is — and is not — required #
This is where FVISS departs most sharply from standard privacy practice, and where practitioners often need the clearest guidance.
Under the scheme, consent is not required to share information where seeking or waiting for consent would:
- place a person at risk of family violence or further family violence;
- place a child at risk of harm;
- not be reasonably practicable in the circumstances; or
- be contrary to the safety or interests of the victim-survivor or a child.
In practice, this means that where a specialist family violence service identifies serious or imminent risk, it can share relevant information with police or another prescribed entity without first obtaining the victim-survivor’s agreement — and without breaching privacy law, provided the disclosure is proportionate and purposeful.
Where none of those circumstances apply, consent should be sought. Good practice under the scheme encourages organisations to work transparently with victim-survivors wherever it is safe and practicable to do so, keeping them informed about what is being shared, with whom, and why. Consent, when freely given by an informed adult, remains the preferred pathway — but the scheme ensures safety cannot be held hostage to a consent process that puts people at greater risk.
There are also specific rules around sharing information about a perpetrator. Certain categories of perpetrator information — such as counselling records from a men’s behaviour change program — carry heightened confidentiality protections. Practitioners should seek legal or specialist advice before sharing such material.
The MARAM overlay #
FVISS does not operate in isolation. It is structurally connected to MARAM — the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management framework, established under the same legislative reforms. MARAM sets out a common approach to identifying, assessing, and managing family violence risk across all prescribed organisations.
MARAM defines the risk factors that practitioners across sectors should be screening for: patterns of coercive control, escalation of violence, use of weapons, strangulation, threats to kill, and a range of other evidence-based indicators. It provides tiered assessment tools — from the brief Identify and Respond tool used by generalist practitioners, through to the more detailed Structured Professional Judgement tools used by specialist services and RAEs.
The connection between MARAM and FVISS is functional: MARAM tells practitioners what risk looks like and how to assess it; FVISS tells them how to share the resulting information lawfully. A risk assessment conducted under MARAM generates the evidentiary basis that justifies a disclosure under FVISS. The two frameworks are designed to be used together, and prescribing organisations are required to align their policies and practice with both.
Recordkeeping and accountability #
The scheme includes accountability mechanisms. Prescribed organisations are required to keep records of information shares — what was shared, with whom, when, and on what basis. These records support internal accountability and allow for auditing by the Information Commissioner or, in the case of health information, the Health Complaints Commissioner.
A person who believes their information has been shared unlawfully — or shared in a way that exceeded the scheme’s purposes — may lodge a complaint. The scheme does not create immunity for reckless or bad-faith disclosures; the protections apply to disclosures made in good faith and in accordance with the scheme’s requirements.
What the scheme means for victim-survivors #
For people experiencing family violence, FVISS represents a structural acknowledgement that their safety must be the organising principle of service systems — not administrative convenience or institutional privacy norms. The scheme is intended to close the gaps that the Royal Commission found had allowed perpetrators to move between agencies and services without a complete picture ever being assembled.
It does not, however, remove agency from victim-survivors. Organisations are still required under MARAM to centre the victim-survivor’s voice in risk assessment and management decisions. Information sharing is a tool — used well, it can connect protective services, coordinate safety planning, and interrupt escalating risk. Used carelessly, it can undermine trust and deter people from seeking help.
Practitioners working across health, education, justice, housing, and community services can access training and guidance through the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, and through specialist family violence peak bodies including Safe and Equal.
If you need support #
If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence or is concerned about a child’s safety, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre: 1800 015 188
- 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
- Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1800 806 292
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
- 13YARN (First Nations crisis support): 13 92 76
- Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000
