Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:35): (2660) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, and the action I seek is for the expansion of the Alexis family violence model statewide. The Alexis family violence response model is an innovative program that places specialist family violence workers alongside Victoria Police. It aims to target high-risk and recidivist family violence and to provide immediate and coordinated supports. In 2014 the Alexis model was piloted in the Bayside area and was later expanded to Glen Eira and Kingston. During the pilot period there was an 85 per cent reduction in family violence recidivism for Alexis family violence response model clients, and 78 per cent of victim-survivor participants reported that this integrated approach helped reduce family violence in their lives. It has been 12 years since this model was piloted. There are 29 family violence investigation units across Victoria Police, and currently only five are under this model.

Earlier this week the Parliamentary Budget Office released a report on extending the Alexis family violence model statewide, which I sought the costings for. The Parliamentary Budget Office costings indicated that extending the Alexis family violence response model statewide would cost $31.1 million across the 2026–27 to 2029–30 years. This means just over $10 million a year, with an estimated $417,000 per family violence investigation unit for the remaining 24 units across Victoria. I have consulted with stakeholders across the family violence sector, and there is broad agreement that this is a model that works and delivers positive outcomes for victim-survivors. More importantly, the expansion of the Alexis family violence response model must be informed by the voices and lived experiences of the communities it is intended to serve. Women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, First Nations communities, LGBTIQA+ communities, women with disability and other groups who experience disproportionate barriers to safety and support must be actively involved in the expansion of the Alexis model. Therefore the action I seek is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence to expand the Alexis family violence response model statewide.