Wednesday 27 May 2020
Auditor-General slams Labor’s Safety Hub implementation
The Victorian Auditor-General has today found that Labor’s domestic violence Safety Hub implementation has been riddled with problems and critical failings.
As a result of the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, the Victorian Government committed funds to establish 17 support and safety hubs by 2021, overseen by Family Safety Victoria (FSV). TheManaging Support and Safety Hubs report released today by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office examines whether the hubs are providing effective and efficient support to victims of domestic violence.
Most alarmingly, the report found that “A rushed implementation schedule and a lack of detailed project planning meant FSV opened the first five hubs before they had all the infrastructure, processes or staff needed to meet demand. As a result, some people have waited months to receive support.
“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 also found that planning for the first five hubs lacked detail and set unrealistic timelines for key projects. Additionally, FSV has been unable to demonstrate whether the hubs are actually leading to better outcomes for families due to a failure of proper data collection.
This is a damning indictment of Labor’s ability to manage and implement key projects, with some of the most vulnerable in our community suffering as a result.
Comments attributable to the Acting Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Georgie Crozier:
“The Auditor-General has found that yet again Labor cannot be trusted to follow through with proper implementation of initiatives announced with much fanfare.
“Too often we hear big talk from Labor, only to see botched implementation, delays and excuses. But no amount of spin can detract from the pain being inflicted on victims of domestic violence whose suffering is made worse by Labor’s mismanagement.”
