DFV information sharing guidelines
The Not now, not ever report recommended new legislative provisions for information sharing between government and non-government agencies in order to improve the safety of victims of domestic and family violence (DFV) and better hold perpetrators to account (recommendation 78).
Information sharing amendments to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 were passed by the Queensland Parliament in October 2016 and commenced on 30 May 2017. These amendments apply statewide.
To support DFV practitioners—such as specialist services, police and doctors—to appropriately share information under the new legislative provisions, Domestic and family violence information sharing guidelines (PDF) (or DOCX) have been developed. These guidelines provide information about:
- what is permitted under the legislation
- who is allowed to share information
- what circumstances allow information sharing without consent to ensure the safety of victims and children
- what information can be shared.
A complementary video to further explain the guidelines was developed by the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research.