Contents
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Better practice in responding to family violence
- Introduction
- Principle One: Develop an informed approach that works for the organisation
- Principle Two: Lead from the top and demonstrate accountability
- Principle Three: Prioritise safety and choice for victim-survivors
- Principle Four: Build a culture of awareness, internally and externally
- Principle Five: Acknowledge and address barriers to access
- Appendices
Better practice in responding to family violence
Published 06 August 2019A guide to promote better practice
This better practice guide highlights innovative industry examples that may go beyond the minimum requirements of our energy and water codes. These examples are drawn from organisations that have already started their own journey of family violence reform. There are many examples of better practice in this guide, reflecting multiple ways of providing family violence assistance that is safe and flexible. The case studies we’ve included are not an exhaustive list. We encourage businesses to share their achievements and will look for new ways to promote additional examples as they emerge.
This guide is built around principles and actions
The better practice guide is built around principles as well as actions Victorian energy retailers can take in order to develop safe and effective family violence responses. They were drawn from insights shared by family violence support services and the overall approaches taken by water businesses as they responded to the water code reforms of 2017. We have refined these principles and actions in consultation with the energy and community sector. Our 2019 research on the family violence assistance provided by the water sector shows that applying these principles can lead to positive experiences for customers affected by family violence, and their support workers.
This guide is not intended to be a compliance guideline
Many of the actions promoted in this guide build on minimum requirements specified within the water and energy codes. Where there is an applicable provision in a code, we have added energy and water icons to direct readers to the specific obligation in the relevant code. It is up to each business to consider the code separately to this guide when deciding how best to meet their regulatory obligations.
We will continue to support better practice
We will continue to work with energy, water and other organisations through a community of practice, with workshops and resources on better practice approaches to family violence. This is part of our public education function to promote the long-term interests of Victorian consumers.