The Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS) and Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) enable the sharing of information between prescribed organisations to assess and manage family violence risk.
Legislative changes were made to the Family Violence Protection Act (2008) and Child Wellbeing and Safety Act (2005) following the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The reforms have led to significant changes in information sharing and promote a collaborative approach to family violence response.
Public Health sector organisations may be classified as either an Information Sharing Entity (ISE) and/or Risk Assessment Entity (RAE). This classification enables sharing of information between certain organisations and services to keep people safe and provide a shared approach to family violence. A full list of prescribed organisations and services is available at https://iselist.www.vic.gov.au/ise/list/.
It is important to note that the FVISS and CISS do not impact existing legislation, such as sharing information with Child Protection under the Children, Youth and Families Act (2005).
What do I do if I am asked to share information through FVISS or CISS?
Monash Health is a prescribed organisation (ISE) so you may ask another prescribed organisation to provide information or you may be asked to provide information to help keep people safe.
In most instances, our Family Violence team coordinates requests for information and will forward these to the relevant program area General Manager.
If you receive a direct request to share information, use the flowchart located in the Implementation Tool to guide you through the correct steps and contact the Family Violence team for support.
There are several checks and balances in place to ensure that only relevant and necessary information is released. Consent is required for victim survivors (unless there is a serious risk to life or safety, or there are children involved), but not for people using violence (i.e. perpetrators). The legislation clearly outlines the considerations which must be met before sharing and what information is considered excluded information. Monash Health’s Family Violence team can provide you with secondary consultation in relation to these matters.
Employees may feel that sharing information is a risk, however not sharing information can be a risk and not sharing quickly enough can also be a risk. Employees should, in the first instance, seek support for information sharing activity from their manager. Legal consultation is not usually required. There will be some cases that are complicated, and if consultation with the legal team is required, this should occur via an escalation process with the manager, or family violence team. However, the vast majority of cases are straightforward.
The introduction of the FVISS and CISS offers clear guidance about when, how and why information is shared. It’s not just that we can share, we have an obligation to share. We have adapted our policies and practice to operate under these frameworks. It is now a standard part of our clinical care to actively participate in information sharing activity, as part of screening, identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk.
Watch the MARAM Animation Series video below, which provides an overview of the FVISS and CISS, and why this collaborative approach across the service sector can help improve outcomes for children and families.
Need more help?
We have resources available to support you should you receive a request.
- Download a copy of the Family Violence and Child information sharing scheme information sheet
- Visit the FVISS and CISS Family Violence Intranet page
- Refer to the Family Violence Information Sharing Procedure on Prompt
All clinical employees are also encouraged to complete the Information Sharing Scheme e-learning modules through Latte. Training will take you 1 hour (three 20-minute modules), aiming to enhance your knowledge on information sharing in practice.
If you have any questions on the information sharing processes, contact the Family Violence team at ISS@monashhealth.org or for family violence enquiries please contact familyviolenceeducation@monashhealth.org.
Approved by Adjunct Professor Katrina Nankervis