Family violence hubs rushed, poorly implemented: auditor

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A $450 million Andrews government family violence reform has been rushed and poorly implemented and has not yet demonstrated any benefit to victims of violence, the state's auditor has found.

In response to the 2016 royal commission into family violence, the government announced it would establish 17 support and safety hubs that would act as one-stop shops for those experiencing family violence.

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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and the late minister for the prevention of family violence Fiona Richardson, left, and Rosie Batty at the release of the royal commission report in 2016.Eddie Jim

The Victorian Auditor-General's Office said the first five hubs were set up in 2018 without enough staff or effective internal processes and warned the government against establishing the remaining 12 hubs by 2022, when they are due to be completed, unless planning for the hubs was improved.

People seeking support were sometimes waiting months and Family Safety Victoria (FSV), a Victorian Health Department agency established to manage the hubs, "opened the first five hubs before they had all the infrastructure, processes or staff needed to meet demand", according to the auditor's report released on Wednesday.

"Hubs are not yet realising their full potential to improve the lives of people affected by family violence and families needing support with their children. This is because their service coordination is not yet consistently effective or efficient," the report said.

"FSV cannot yet demonstrate whether the hubs are leading to better outcomes for families.

"FSV is working to address these weaknesses and making changes to improve the launch of the next hubs. However, given the volume of work still required and the challenge of opening 12 hubs in less than three years, the risk remains that FSV will launch hubs that are not fully prepared to support clients."

The first five hubs were created in Frankston, Geelong, Heidelberg, Mildura and Morwell. The government has branded them 'The Orange Door' in reference to the colour used to represent a global movement to stem family violence.

The report found FSV was not collecting appropriate data to monitor and evaluate whether clients who attended hubs were experiencing positive results.

It also found the hubs were not working in collaboration with each other and did not have appropriate technology, both of which were recommendations of the royal commission.

Victorian Opposition family violence spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the report showed the state government's "big talk" on the hubs had been followed by "botched implementation, delays and excuses".

The Health Department has accepted all the recommended improvements made by the auditor.

With AAP