Information sharing

Privacy Committee support

The Privacy Committee of South Australia oversees the administration of the Information Privacy Principles and has supported the sharing of information to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the life or health of victims of domestic violence and their families. This is supported by the Information Sharing Guidelines (ISGs).

Information Sharing Guidelines

Information sharing through the Family Safety Framework is supported by the Family Safety Framework Information Sharing Protocol (Information Sharing Protocol) (Appendix 9), the Information Sharing Guidelines and the Privacy Committee.

Family Safety Meeting representatives should be familiar with and consider their agency’s policy and/or procedure regarding the use or activation of the Information Sharing Guidelines.

The Information Sharing Guidelines (ISGs) provide a mechanism for information sharing between agencies when it is believed a person is at risk of significant harm and adverse outcomes can be expected unless appropriate services are provided. The ISGs apply for both government and non-government organisations.

PDF copy of the Information Sharing Guidelines (PDF 1.5 MB)

When can/should you share information in relation to the Framework?

If the worker has identified that a person or their children is at risk of harm, the first step is to assess risk using the Domestic Violence Risk Assessment (DVRA) and continue to a referral to a Family Safety Meeting, as appropriate.

A client's informed consent to share information must be sought in all situations where it is considered reasonable and practicable to do so.

The primary concern is the client’s safety. As such, consent is not a requirement for referral to the Family Safety Meeting.

If there is a threat to safety and wellbeing of a person and you do not have consent to share information, please refer to the Information Sharing Guidelines and/or speak with your manager or an appropriate person.

Remember that if there are mandatory child protection notifications processes in place, workers are legally mandated to adhere to them.

Sharing Information to support an FSM to provide a multi-agency response and develop a Positive Action Plan

Agencies authorise workers to participate in the Framework and the Family Safety Meeting. This supports a worker’s role related to information sharing when there is high risk.

In order to undertake a multi-agency response and develop a Positive Action Plan for a person at risk and their children, the other agencies at the FSM need to know information from each agency. FSM representatives must be specific in the information that they provide the other agencies, and it must be related to the identified risk to safety of an individual or family.