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Introduction

The Foundation Knowledge Guide explains key elements of the MARAM Framework, as well as additional foundational knowledge to guide all professionals who will go on to use the MARAM Practice Guides.

This updated version of the Foundation Knowledge Guide (2021) includes information from both the victim survivor and perpetrator-focused practice lenses to provide a complete resource for all professionals and organisations with responsibilities under the MARAM Framework.

It includes evidence-based information about the effects and experiences of risk across a range of age groups, as well as in Aboriginal communities, diverse communities and at-risk age groups, including children, young people and older people.

2.1 A shared responsibility

It builds on the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission, and most importantly, it provides the basis for a consistent, system-wide shared responsibility to identify, screen, assess and manage family violence across a broad range of workforces and services.

This shared responsibility stretches between individual professionals, services and whole sectors.

It gives services more options to keep victim survivors safe, and provides a stronger, more collaborative approach to holding perpetrators accountable for their actions and behaviours.

2.2 About this guide

The Foundation Knowledge Guide covers:

  • a principles-based approach to practice
  • the legislative authorising environment for practice under the MARAM Framework
  • an overview of the service system, including entry points for service users (both victim survivors and perpetrators)
  • guidance for organisational leaders, individual professionals and services to identify the responsibilities that make up their role, and how to use the victim-survivor and perpetrator-focused MARAM Practice Guides in their work
  • information about family violence — including the definition under the Act, behaviours that constitute family violence, evidence-based risk factors and presentations of risk for victim survivors caused by perpetrators’ use of violence, across age groups, and across communities
  • working with child and adult victim survivors and adult perpetrators of family violence, including concepts of the predominant aggressor and misidentification
  • key concepts for practice, including structured professional judgement, intersectional analysis, trauma and violence–informed practice, person or victim-centred practice, and the legislation supporting information sharing.

Updated