A new national framework to independently assess Australia’s response to domestic, family and sexual violence has been welcomed by the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre (Women’s TRC), with its stronger focus on recovery and the experiences of victim-survivors.
Released by the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV) Commission, the Monitoring and Reporting Framework will guide independent assessment of Australia’s progress under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.
It aims to measure whether reforms are producing meaningful change across prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing.
Women’s TRC CEO Elise Phillips said the framework reflected a growing understanding that recovery is a critical part of Australia’s response to domestic, family and sexual violence.
“Recognising recovery as part of the national picture is an important step forward,” she said.
“It acknowledges that healing and rebuilding are vital outcomes, and that they deserve to be measured alongside prevention and crisis response.”
Ms Philips also welcomed the Commission’s commitment to embedding lived experience as a source of evidence rather than simply consultation.
“The voices of people who have experienced domestic, family and sexual violence are essential to understanding whether our systems are making a real difference. Embedding lived experience in evaluation helps ensure reforms are informed by the people they are intended to benefit.”
The framework describes lived experience as “the heart of accountability” and outlines new activities to gather evidence directly from people who have experienced violence to help assess whether systems are improving over time. It also proposes new ways of monitoring recovery and healing alongside the National Plan’s other priority areas.
DFSV Commissioner Micaela Cronin said the framework represented a shift towards understanding whether the system as a whole was delivering results.
“The framework places lived and living experience at the centre of accountability, ensuring the voices of people affected by violence shape how progress is assessed and how systems evolve,” she said.
The Commission’s first assessment using the new framework will inform its 2026 Yearly Report to Parliament.