The Essential Services Commission has updated the better practice in responding to family violence handbook, which serves as a practical guide to help energy and water businesses assess and strengthen their response to family violence.
The handbook has been updated to reflect deepening understanding about family violence risk in essential services, including the importance of taking a Safety by Design approach.
Safety by Design is a framework to anticipate, detect and eliminate harm before it occurs and puts the onus on providers to ensure their products and services are safe.
Key updates include:
- lived experience insights focused on customer needs and experiences
- information from the Safety by design for essential services report, including case studies demonstrating how some businesses are incorporating safety by design
- a comprehensive resource list to support businesses to develop their family violence response.
This handbook now also includes information based on research by Uniting Vic. Tas, including:
- understanding the immediate and long-term impacts of family violence and how businesses can respond appropriately
- barriers to disclosure and engagement experience by customers and how businesses can address these.
The commission consulted widely to ensure the handbook was informed by energy and water businesses, other essential services providers, the community sector and people with lived experience of family violence.
Thank you to those who provided their research, lived experience, and expertise to ensure the commission's work around family violence remains well informed.
Quotes attributable to Essential Services Commission Chairperson and Commissioner Gerard Brody
"Over the last six years, our understanding of family violence risk has grown. This updated handbook captures our increased knowledge."
"Research shows that people who use violence will keep looking for loopholes to exploit as systems and technologies change. Both industries and regulators need to be agile and responsive to this risk."
"Strong, visible and accountable leadership is critical to drive and support this work. We need to listen and learn from each other and from experts in this field. We need to keep the focus on family violence and share what works to support customers and prevent harm."
"We invite energy and water businesses to consider their practices against the principles and actions in this handbook and consider where there is room to grow and strengthen their response. Family violence remains an urgent issue for Victorians, and we all have a role to play in preventing the harm it creates."
Quotes attributable to Uniting Vic. Tas Head of Social Impact and Engagement, Janine Rayner
"Integrating the lived experience of consumers is an essential part of developing systems and processes that meet the needs of customers."
"The experience of victim-survivors is unique to each individual and as technology evolves, so too can methods of abuse. Listening to victim-survivors and learning from their lived experience is an ongoing opportunity for organisations to refine their processes and be at the forefront of customer wellbeing."
"Uniting Social Impact continues to prioritise working with organisations to reduce the financial and social hardship of customers."
Background
In Victoria, energy and water businesses must protect customer information, ensure access to payment assistance and provide customers with connections to specialist family violence services.
The commission has taken enforcement action against two energy retailers for breaching family violence provisions in the past year.
Origin Energy was ordered to pay $1.597 million in penalties for failing to comply with family violence provisions in January. Engie was also ordered to pay almost $1.7 million in penalties for failing to comply with family violence provisions in September 2024.
