SUBM.0620.001.0001 Royal Commission into Family Violence – Victoria Submission by Dr Angela Spinney, Research Fellow, Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. Thank you, both for the opportunity to attend the academic round table on 4th May and to make this submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence - Victoria. I would like to table for your consideration two Australian research reports which address the very important issues of homelessness prevention and housing and domestic and family violence in Australia. Some of the findings and recommendations of these reports were discussed at the academic round table: 1. Spinney, A. (2012) Home and safe? Policy and practice innovations to prevent women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless, AHURI Final Report No.196. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/p50602/ This report sets out the findings of a research project investigating the opportunities and challenges of preventing women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless. 2. Spinney, Angela. Australian Homelessness Clearinghouse, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Swinburne University of Technology; 2012. Reducing the need for women and children to make repeated use of refuge and other crisis accommodation. http://homelessnessclearinghouse.govspace.gov.au/whats-new-3/research-release- reducing-the-need-for-women-and-children-to-make-repeated-use-of-refuge-and- other-crisis-accommodation-2012/ This report sets out the findings of a research project investigating Early Intervention Strategies to Reduce the Need for Women and Children to Make Repeated Use of Refuge and Other Crisis Accommodation. The project is intended to bring forward knowledge of the reasons for the decisions made by women who have been subject to domestic and family violence regarding whether to leave the family home for a refuge in order to escape the abuse, whether to return to the perpetrator and whether to leave again. If you would like any further information or discussion please do not hesitate to contact me. SUBM.0620.001.0002 Home and safe? Policy and practice innovations to prevent women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless authored by Angela Spinney for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Swinburne Research Centre November 2012 AHURI Final Report No. 196 ISSN: 1834-7223 ISBN: 978-1-922075-14-7 ~ AHUR i Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute SUBM.0620.001.0003 Author Spinney, Angela Swinburne University Title Home and safe? Policy and prac tice innovations to prevent women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless ISBN 978-1-922075-14-7 Format PDF Key words Homelessness prevention, women and children, domestic and family violence Editor Anne Badenhorst AHURI National Office Publisher Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Melbourne, Australia Series AHURI Final Report; no.196 ISSN 1834-7223 Preferred citation Spinney, A. (2012) Home and safe? Policy and practice innovations to prevent women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless, AHURI Final Report No.196. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. i SUBM.0620.001.0004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and the Australian states and territory governments. AHURI Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. AHURI comprises a network of universities clustered into Research Centres across Australia. Research Centre contributions, both financial and in-kind, have made the completion of this report possible. The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the key informants in Australia and England, both those who were interviewed individually in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria (Australia) and in Hull, London, Norfolk and Sheffield (England), and those who participated in the facilitated workshops held in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. A list of non-anonymous participants is given in Appendix 3. The author would like to wholeheartedly thank the two research assistants who worked on this project; Yee Man Louie, Swinburne Institute for Social Research, who assisted with the literature review and organised the research workshops; Alan Harper, final year law student at The University of Adelaide, who also assisted with the literature review and compiled the legislative comparison tables in Chapter 4 and Appendices 1–2. The author would also like to thank Professor Kath Hulse for her advice on the conceptual development and academic quality of the project; Professor Sarah Blandy, Sheffield University, England (formally Senior Law Lecturer at Leeds University, England) for her contribution to the first stage of the project and as co-author of the Positioning Paper; David Hudson from the Swinburne Institute for Social Research for editing this Final Report. DISCLAIMER AHURI Limited is an independent, non-political body which has supported this project as part of its programme of research into housing and urban development, which it hopes will be of value to policy-makers, researchers, industry and communities. The opinions in this publication reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AHURI Limited, its Board or its funding organisations. No responsibility is accepted by AHURI Limited or its Board or its funders for the accuracy or omission of any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication. AHURI FINAL REPORT SERIES AHURI Final Reports is a refereed series presenting the results of original research to a diverse readership of policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. PEER REVIEW STATEMENT An objective assessment of all reports published in the AHURI Final Report Series by carefully selected experts in the field ensures that material of the highest quality is published. The AHURI Final Report Series employs a double-blind peer review of the full Final Report – where anonymity is strictly observed between authors and referees. ii SUBM.0620.001.0005 CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... VI ACRONYMS ...............................................................................................................VII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Context ................................................................................................................ 4 2 RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODS ........................................................ 6 2.1 Introduction and research questions .................................................................... 6 2.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Companion study ................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 9 3 POLICY CONTEXT AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................. 10 3.1 Domestic and family violence ............................................................................. 10 3.2 Homelessness and domestic and family violence .............................................. 11 3.3 Homelessness prevention .................................................................................. 11 3.4 Conceptual framework ....................................................................................... 12 3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 13 4 JUDICIAL AND LEGAL ISSUES ....................................................................... 14 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 14 4.2 Australian legislation offering a response to homelessness prevention attributed to domestic and family violence from a tenancy perspective .............................. 14 4.3 Australian legislation offering a response to domestic and family violence, and its implications for homelessness prevention for affected women and children .. 18 4.4 English legislation as it relates to homelessness prevention concerning domestic and family violence ............................................................................. 23 4.5 Breaches of injunctions and orders .................................................................... 26 4.6 How courts can help or hinder women to remain in their homes ........................ 27 4.6.1 The role of court welfare officers ............................................................... 27 4.6.2 The role of magistrates ............................................................................. 28 4.7 Police issues ...................................................................................................... 29 4.8 Family law issues ............................................................................................... 31 4.9 Legal support ..................................................................................................... 31 4.10 Access to legal aid ............................................................................................. 32 4.11 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 32 5 HOUSING PROVISION ISSUES ....................................................................... 34 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 34 5.2 Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) schemes: New South Wales ............... 34 5.2.1 Newcastle SHLV ....................................................................................... 36 5.2.2 Mt Druitt (Blacktown) SHLV ...................................................................... 37 5.2.3 Social marketing by SHLV schemes: Bega ............................................... 38 5.2.4 Evaluation of SHLV ................................................................................... 38 iii SUBM.0620.001.0006 5.2.5 Service integration and partnership with other agencies ........................... 39 5.3 Risk management and safety planning to facilitate the prevention of homelessness .................................................................................................... 40 5.3.1 Multi-agency risk assessment committees (MARACs) .............................. 41 5.3.2 Client and staff safety ............................................................................... 42 5.3.3 Security upgrading and ‘target hardening’ ................................................. 42 5.3.4 Take-up of safety planning and security upgrading ................................... 42 5.3.5 Removal of safety equipment .................................................................... 43 5.4 Information sharing and confidentially issues ..................................................... 43 5.5 Safe at Home in Victoria .................................................................................... 44 5.6 Accessing and sustaining living in the private rental sector, public housing and owner-occupied properties ................................................................................. 45 5.6.1 Private rental ............................................................................................. 45 5.6.2 Public housing .......................................................................................... 46 5.6.3 Owner occupation ..................................................................................... 46 5.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 46 6 WELFARE AND SUPPORT ISSUES ................................................................ 48 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 48 6.2 Support to increase financial confidence and capability ..................................... 48 6.3 Personal development support ........................................................................... 48 6.4 Emergency support at times of perpetrator incidents.......................................... 49 6.5 Support for Indigenous Australian women .......................................................... 51 6.6 Community support and education ..................................................................... 52 6.7 Support for children ............................................................................................ 52 6.8 Perpetrator support and accommodation ........................................................... 53 6.9 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 53 7 JURISDICTION-WIDE INTEGRATED APPROACHES ..................................... 55 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 55 7.2 Sanctuary Schemes–England ............................................................................ 55 7.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 55 7.2.2 Key findings on Sanctuary Schemes ......................................................... 56 7.2.3 Key advice from English providers and policy-makers .............................. 57 7.2.4 Norfolk Sanctuary Scheme: Breckland ...................................................... 57 7.2.5 Sheffield Sanctuary Scheme ..................................................................... 58 7.2.6 Hull Sanctuary Scheme............................................................................. 59 7.2.7 Evaluation of Sanctuary Schemes ............................................................ 60 7.2.8 Potential transferable lessons from England ............................................. 60 7.3 Safe at Home–Tasmania ................................................................................... 62 7.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 65 8 IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AUSTRALIA-WIDE AND FINAL CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................ 67 8.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 67 iv SUBM.0620.001.0007 8.2 Have innovative homelessness prevention measures been successful? ............ 67 8.3 What are the implications of these findings for policy and practice? ................... 69 8.4 Final conclusions ............................................................................................... 70 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 71 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 74 Appendix 1: Australian residential tenancies legislation offering a response to homelessness attributed to domestic and family violence .................................. 74 Appendix 2: Australian domestic violence legislation: provisions for homelessness prevention .......................................................................................................... 79 Appendix 3: Research participants .............................................................................. 91 Appendix 4: Poster–Mt Druitt SHLV ............................................................................ 96 Appendix 5: Social marketing poster–Bega SHLV ....................................................... 98 Appendix 6: Information sheet–Norfolk Sanctuary Scheme ......................................... 99 Appendix 7: Information sheet–Sheffield Sanctuary Scheme .................................... 101 v SUBM.0620.001.0008 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Australian legislation offering a response to homelessness prevention from a tenancy perspective ........................................................................................... 15 Table 2: Australian legislation offering a response to domestic and family violence and their implications for homelessness prevention .................................................. 19 Table 3: English legislation as it relates to homelessness prevention concerning domestic and family violence ............................................................................. 24 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Interrelated approaches to homelessness prevention for women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence ............................ 12 vi SUBM.0620.001.0009 ACRONYMS ACT Australian Capital Territory AFM Affected Family Members AHURI Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited COAG Council of Australian Governments DCLG Department for Communities and Local Government (UK) DVLO Domestic Violence Liaison Officers DHHS Department for Health and Human Services (Tasmania) EDVOS Eastern Domestic Violence Crisis Service FaHCSIA Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs IDC Inter-Department Committee MARAC Multi-agency risk assessment committee NSW New South Wales NT Northern Territory PILCH Public Interest Law Clearing House Qld Queensland SA South Australia SHLV Staying Home Leaving Violence Tas Tasmania UK United Kingdom Vic Victoria WA Western Australia WDVCS Women's Domestic Violence Crisis Service Victoria WLSV Women's Legal Service Victoria vii SUBM.0620.001.0010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report sets out the findings of a research project investigating the opportunities and challenges of preventing women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence from becoming homeless. The project responded to the AHURI Strategic Research Issue 1: Housing and related systems that prevent homelessness and promote wellbeing and stable housing outcomes, and the challenges outlined in the White Paper, The road home: a national approach to reducing homelessness (Commonwealth of Australia 2008). The White Paper highlights prevention and early intervention as the most efficient and effective ways to reduce homelessness, and they are also embodied within National Affordable Housing Agreement objectives. This is the second and Final Report from AHURI Research Project 50602– Homelessness prevention for women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence: innovations in policy and practice. The aim is to explore the value and implementation challenges of innovative staying at home homelessness prevention measures, such as Staying Home Leaving Violence schemes in Australia and Sanctuary Schemes in England. The two broad research questions are:  How and to what extent have innovative homelessness prevention measures introduced in Australia and England since the mid-1990s been successful in enabling women and children to remain in their homes and localities?  What are the implications of these findings for policy on housing and homelessness in Australia and for improvements to practice? Research approach Stage one consisted of a desk-based literature review. The Positioning Paper (Spinney & Blandy 2011) <http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/50602 pp> is based on this stage and contains an international and national academic and policy review of the literature and details the conceptual framework developed for the study. In stage two a comparative methodology using two case studies, England and Australia, allowed investigation of ‘joined up’ approaches to homelessness prevention for women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence. These consist of housing, judicial and support systems and services working together to enable the women and children to remain within their homes. The English case study involved visiting three Sanctuary homelessness prevention schemes in order to ascertain how they work and whether there are transferable policies and practices that could work effectively in Australia. In the Australian case study, the three embedded units of analysis were New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. Homelessness prevention schemes were visited in each of these states and 45 semi-structured interviews were conducted. These sought to determine the scope and effectiveness of projects, with a focus on their objectives and how they work. The author was keen to hear the views of key policy-makers and providers, including any implementation difficulties they had encountered. Documentary evidence was collected when appropriate, including policy documents and promotional materials. Following thematic analysis of the interview findings, a series of workshops was facilitated in five state capitals with 47 policy-makers, practitioners and researchers attending presentations on the interim findings. Facilitated discussions deepened 1