2025–2026
Updating the National Risk Assessment Principles and Risk Factors for family and domestic violence
ANROWS is updating the National Risk Assessment Principles and Risk Factors for family and domestic violence (national principles) to ensure they reflect current evidence and best practice. This update is part of a national effort to improve risk assessment and management across systems, guided by the latest research and a collaborative approach.
What are the National Risk Assessment Principles and Risk Factors?
Developed by ANROWS in 2018, the national principles provide a shared, evidence-based understanding of risk in the context of family and domestic violence. They are designed to guide states and territories in developing, revising or evaluating risk assessment frameworks, tools and practices. The national principles do not replace existing jurisdictional frameworks, but instead, serve as a foundation for nationally consistent approaches to managing risk.
Current National Risk Assessment Principles
National Risk Assessment Principles for domestic and family violence (2018)
Read the current principlesQuick reference guide for practitioners (2018)
Read the quick guideCompanion resource: Summary of the evidence (2018)
Read the companion resource
Why are the National Principles being updated?
The Department of Social Services (DSS) has contracted ANROWS to update the National Risk Assessment Principles and Risk Factors (national principles) to ensure they remain relevant, appropriate, and reflective of current evidence and best practice.
This update will form part of work DSS is leading, in consultation with states and territories, to develop a national model best-practice risk assessment framework (model framework). National Cabinet committed to developing the national principles and model framework in September 2024, following release of Unlocking the Prevention Potential: Accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence (Report of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches). This report recommended Commonwealth and state and territory governments work together to strengthen multi-agency approaches and better manage risk, including through development and implementation of nationally consistent risk assessment and management principles to be used across a range of roles.
What will the update include?
The update will incorporate:
- the latest evidence on high-risk factors for family and domestic violence
- evidence-based principles for managing family and domestic violence risk
- learnings from the current policy and practice landscape
- the views of groups that are disproportionately impacted by family and domestic violence, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, migrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ people, people with disability and young people.
The process will be guided by the Australian National Research Agenda principles, valuing practitioner expertise, lived experience and the voices of children and young people.
How is the update being developed?
ANROWS is undertaking a consultative process that includes:
- a stakeholder survey (including practitioners, policymakers, peak bodies, researchers and people with lived experience)
- a literature review of the current evidence base
- a review of relevant national, state and territory policies and risk assessment tools and frameworks that have been developed since 2018 or are currently in development
- consultations with key stakeholders.
Researchers
PROJECT LEAD
ANROWS
RESEARCH TEAM
Cherie Toivonen, Consultant
Hannah Taylor, Consultant
ANROWS National Risk Assessment Principles team
