Updated guidelines to support best practice care for domestic violence

The Morrison Government is investing $300,000 to update clinical guidelines to help general practitioners to better recognise and respond to family and domestic violence.

 

The funding will support the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to update the Whitebook – Abuse and violence: Working with our patients in general practice – with the latest evidence and best practice advice.

 

After family and friends, it is General Practitioners (GPs) and other primary care providers who survivors of family and domestic violence turn to for support.

 

GPs are in a unique position to recognise, respond, intervene, support and provide specialist referrals.

 

The Whitebook is an important resource for GPs to provide the best possible care to patients experiencing abuse from a current or former domestic, family and sexual violence, and child abuse. 

 

The update will ensure GPs have the latest evidence-based guidance on how to identify and respond to family and domestic violence.

 

This initiative is being funded under our Government’s $9.6 million investment, announced in the 2019–20 Budget, to support the Fourth Action Plan (2019–2022) to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children.

 

The Action Plan is the fourth and final plan under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2020. It builds on a decade of collaboration, research and work across all governments.

 

Under our $9.6 million investment, we are providing $7.5 million to trial locally integrated models of family violence identification, response and referral in Primary Health Networks to provide whole of practice family violence training for general practice staff.

 

We are also investing $2.1 million in training for primary care providers, including today’s announcement.

 

Making sure women and children suffering domestic violence get the help and support they need in the right place, at the right time and in the right way, is a priority of the Government.