Child Abuse

Domestic
Review Violence
Vol. 16: 311322
in New South
(2007)Wales, Australia
Published online in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/car.991

Domestic Violence:
A Priority in Child
Protection in New
South Wales,
Australia?

311

Jude Irwin*
Fran Waugh
Faculty of Education and Social
Work, University of Sydney,
Australia

Over the last several years there has been increasing awareness of
the connection between domestic violence and child abuse, yet only
minimal attention has been paid to the implications of this for child
protection practice. This article begins to address this gap. Drawing on
research undertaken in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, it examines
child protection practice in relation to children and young people who
have been exposed to domestic violence. The research involved
analysis of the responses of the statutory child protection authority
in NSW (the Department of Community Services or DoCS) to abuse
allegations involving domestic violence. The data are drawn from
observation and analysis of the initial responses to referrals to DoCS
and the tracking of a sample of these referrals over an 18 month
period. From the data obtained, it is evident that domestic violence
referrals are treated less seriously than other referrals, with more
being confirmed as abuse but fewer resulting in follow up or
intervention. The implications of this for child protection practice are
teased out. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Increasing
awareness of
the connection
between domestic
violence and child
abuse

Domestic violence
referrals are treated
less seriously than
other referrals

KEY WORDS: domestic violence; child abuse; child protection

ver the last 15 years in the western world, including Australia,

there has been increasing attention paid to the effects of
domestic violence on children. Research undertaken in Britain,
the USA, Canada and Australia shows that there is frequently a
link between domestic violence and child abuse, with the presence
of one form of violence often being associated with the other
(James, 1994; Jaffe et al., 1990; OKeefe, 1995; Laing, 2000;
Edleson, 2001; Jourles et al., 2001; Mullender et al., 2002; Calder

Correspondence to: Associate Professor Jude Irwin, Faculty of Education and Social
Work, Building A35, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. E-mail: J.Irwin@edfac.
usyd.edu.au
Contract/grant sponsor: Australian Research Council; Barnardos, Australia; NSW Department
of Community Services.
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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312

How do
practitioners make
sense of this in
their practice?

Irwin and Waugh

et al., 2004; Humphreys and Stanley, 2006; Radford and Hester,

2006). How has child protection practice been influenced by
this knowledge? How do practitioners make sense of this in their
practice? This article addresses these questions utilising research
undertaken in NSW, Australia which explored statutory child
protection practitioners responses to domestic violence. To
contextualise the research, the article begins with a brief overview
of the social and political background in both federal and state
arenas (particularly NSW) and provides an outline of early policy
responses to child protection in relation to domestic violence.

Australia: The Social, Political and Legal Context

All except Western

Australia have some
form of mandatory
reporting of child
abuse

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In just over a decade of conservative federal government in

Australia, there has been an erosion of services to women living
with domestic violence. A concerted move towards the consolidation of the family has resulted in a dismantling of many of the
policies and services that had been put into place by previous
governments. These have included: a decrease in child care subsidies so increasing costs to users; dismantling of youth training
schemes; tighter controls over youth allowances resulting in families having to financially support young people for longer time
periods; cutbacks to legal aid which have had a negative impact
on womens access to justice; reductions in supported accommodation schemes, affecting funding to refuges (shelters) and
emergency accommodation and support services; and privatisation
of family court support services and the movement to negotiated
settlements.
In Australia, statutory child protection work is the responsibility
of the state and territory governments. There are differences in
legislation and procedures between the states but all except Western Australia have some form of mandatory reporting of child abuse.
This research was undertaken in NSW, the most populous state in
Australia, over a four year period: 1997 to 2001. In 2000, towards
the end of the data collection for this project, new child protection
legislation was .introduced. The NSW Children and Young Persons
(Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW Government, 1998) was
proclaimed in 2000. Section 23(d) of the Act states that a child
or young person is at risk of harm if current concerns exist for
the safety, welfare or well-being of the child or young person
because of the presence of domestic violence. We argue that,
despite this inclusion, domestic violence remains a key issue in
child protection (see for example NSW Child Death Review
Team, 2002; NSW Ombudsman, 2004, 2005, 2006) and the issues
identified in this research remain relevant for practitioners and
policy makers.
Child Abuse Review Vol. 16: 311322 (2007)
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Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Australia

313

NSW: Early Policy and Practice Responses to Children

Protection and Domestic Violence
It was six years earlier, in June 1994, that domestic violence
was introduced into child protection procedures as a new child at
risk notification category: emotional abuse due to exposure to
domestic violence. This was the first time that exposure to domestic violence could be recorded as a form of child abuse. The change
evoked both positive and negative responses from professionals
working in the areas of child protection and domestic violence
(Irwin and Wilkinson, 1997). In February 1997, there were further
changes as exposure to domestic violence was replaced by three
separate categories relating to:

The first time

that exposure to
domestic violence
could be recorded
as a form of child
abuse

1. the behaviour of the carer;

2. risk or harm to a child as a result of intervening in domestic
violence; and
3. risk to a child as a consequence of witnessing violence.

Prior to and at the time this research was undertaken, workplace

factors played an influential part in the day to day practice of statutory child protection workers. In the decade prior to the research,
there were major restructures of the statutory child protection
authority resulting in closure of offices; downsizing of management
numbers; an overall reduction of staff numbers; and the demoralisation of child protection workers with high turnover of staff
(Perrin, 1992; Humphreys, 1993; Waugh, 1997). When the research
was undertaken, the workplace factors at local offices continued
to be unstable and included: ongoing staff shortages; high staff
turnover; a large variation in child protection practice knowledge
and experience held by intake workers; differing team structures
from office to office; differing decision-making processes between
offices; high workloads necessitating the prioritising of crisis
responses; the number of referrals outweighing the capacity to
respond which resulted in cases remaining unallocated; and varying levels of supervision of intake workers (Irwin et al., 2002). It
was in this turbulent context of rapid policy change, diminishing
resources and challenging work practices that the research project
described in this article commenced.

When the research

was undertaken, the
workplace factors
at local offices
continued to be
unstable

The Research
The aims of the overall research project were to:
1. examine practitioners knowledge and understandings of domestic
violence;
2. review the child protection strategies utilised by practitioners; and
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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314

Irwin and Waugh

3. identify effective strategies which could be used in responding to

both women and their children.

An intended
outcome of the
research was the
development of a
template of good
practice

An intended outcome of the research was the development of a

template of good practice for practitioners which would address
the rights, needs and interests of women and their children who had
lived with domestic violence.
The project included four related studies undertaken over a four
year period:
1. The observation and analysis of responses to domestic violence
at five statutory child protection offices in NSW over a 20 day
period, followed by the tracking of a sample of these referrals
over 18 months. The views of intake workers and their supervisors
were also sought.
2. The exploration of practitioners understandings of the child protection practice and policy issues related to children and young
people who live with domestic violence.
3. The exploration of womens experiences of living with domestic
violence and the protection of their children.
4. The exploration of how children and young people managed
living with domestic violence.

It is the first of these studies: the analysis of the statutory responses

to domestic violence, which is the focus of this article.

Outline of Statutory Child Protection Intake Process in

NSW in 19972000

When a referral
was first received
there were three
possible decisions

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The statutory child protection offices participating in the research

all employed designated intake staff who responded to the incoming referrals. The responses involved collecting relevant information, undertaking a preliminary assessment to clarify issues and
preparing a plan of action which was presented to their supervisor.
During the period when the research was undertaken, there were
various decision-making points in statutory child protection practice which would result in referrals either being filtered out, thus
not requiring further investigation, or remaining in the system to
be further investigated. When a referral was first received there were
three possible decisions that could be made:
1. The referral could be recorded as information onlythis was if
the allegation was not considered serious. No further action would
be taken.
2. The referral could be recorded as intake only on the Client
Information System (CIS)this was when the allegation was
considered more serious. These referrals involved minimal or no
follow up.
3. An allegation considered the most serious would be recorded as
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Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Australia

315

a notification on the CIS. At the time of the research this was the
official recording of the child abuse allegation and involved follow up. (The nomenclature for notification changed to report in
new child protection legislation in 2000.)

If a decision was made to record the allegation as a notification, the

next step was to decide whether an investigative assessment would
be undertaken. This involved consultation with senior staff, other
relevant agencies and the family to complete a more detailed
risk assessment. The five possible outcomes of an investigative
assessment were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

confirmed, registered;
confirmed, referred, closed;
confirmed, closed;
not confirmed, referred, closed; or
not confirmed, closed and not located.

Five possible
outcomes of an
investigative
assessment were

Collecting the Data

This part of the research study explored how the Department
of Community Services (DoCS) in NSW (the child protection
statutory authority) responded to reports of child abuse, particularly
those which involved domestic violence. It involved three aspects.
Observation and Analysis of Intake Practices at Five Offices of
the NSW DoCS
Researchers at each of the five participating offices shadowed
an intake worker and used a structured questionnaire to collect
information on each referral over the observation period. Data
were collected on all child abuse referrals not only those involving
domestic violence. Two of the offices were located in the urban
areas of Sydney and three were in rural NSW.
The Tracking of a Sample of Intake Referrals Over an
18 Month Period

Researchers at
each of the five
participating
offices shadowed
an intake worker
and used a
structured
questionnaire

A sample of the referrals was tracked over 18 months. This included

all referrals where domestic violence was the primary reason
for referral and a similar number of other referrals. A structured
questionnaire was used to collect information from the files and CIS
on: family composition and social supports; nature, frequency, time
frame and outcome of intervention by the DoCS; and the involvement of other agencies and any inter-agency work with the family.
The purpose of this was to provide information about the outcome
on any intervention.
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Irwin and Waugh

Interviews with Intake Workers and Assistant Managers Who

Participated in the Project
An interview guide was used to elicit information from intake
workers and any staff who had decision-making responsibilities
concerning the referrals. Information was sought about professional
background and experience, understandings of domestic violence
and the role of statutory child protection personnel in responding
to situations when domestic violence was present. Practitioners
views were also sought on the availability of professional supervision, workloads, the adequacy of staffing levels and resources,
workplace practices and the work environment.

The Intake Data

A total of 431
referrals were
observed in the
five participating
offices

During the observation period a total of 431 referrals were observed

in the five participating offices (see Figure 1). Domestic violence
was the highest primary grounds for referral, with 111 (26%). The
next highest referral was physical harm (72 referrals <17%).
Just over 50% (217) of the 431 initial referrals were tracked over a
period of 18 months after the observation period.

Comparison of Domestic Violence and Other Referrals

A higher
percentage of
domestic violence
referrals were
recoded as
information only

A similar percentage of referrals for domestic violence as for other

forms of child abuse and neglect initial referrals were recorded
as notifications (56% (62) of domestic violence referrals and 58%
(188) of other referrals). However, a higher percentage of domestic violence referrals were recoded as information only, namely
13% (14) domestic violence referrals and seven per cent (21) other
referrals. Thus, at this early stage in the child protection process,
domestic violence appeared to be assessed as less serious than other
forms of abuse and is therefore less likely to be recorded on the
CIS to the same extent as other referrals. This effectively discounts

Figure 1. All observed referrals

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Australia

domestic violence in child protection practice with the consequences of no follow up, ongoing involvement with the family or
referral to another service.
A similar picture emerged in relation to notifications. Even though
a similar percentage of the initial domestic violence and other
referrals were recorded as notifications, there was a significant
difference between the percentage of domestic violence referrals
and all other tracked referrals which were followed up with investigative assessments. Investigative assessments were pursued in
36% (40) of the domestic violence notifications and 52% (55) of the
other notifications. Again it is evident that referrals on the primary
grounds of domestic violence were less likely to be followed up with
an investigative assessment than referrals on other grounds.
There was also great disparity between confirmation of the
domestic violence and other abuse referrals, namely, 75% of
the initial domestic violence referrals were confirmed and 56%
of the other initial referrals were confirmed. Although a higher
percentage of domestic violence referrals were confirmed, only 16%
(three) of the confirmed domestic violence referrals were recorded
as registered cases, whereas 63% (19) of the other confirmed
referrals were recorded as registered cases. So, although more likely
to be confirmed, referrals based on domestic violence were less
likely to be registered and result in an ongoing response from statutory child protection workers.

317

Only 16% of the

confirmed domestic
violence referrals
were recorded as
registered cases

Re-referrals
Over the 18 month tracking period, 88 of the original referrals were
re-reported to statutory child protection authorities on one or more
occasion. Of these 69% resulted in a notification, with similar
rates for both the domestic violence and other categories of abuse.
As with the initial referrals, a higher percentage of domestic
violence re-referrals resulted in an intake only decision and were
filtered out of the child protection system. The domestic violence
re-referrals were again less likely to result in investigative assessments and registration. Investigative assessments were undertaken
in 55% of domestic violence referrals and 68% of other referrals.
Only 19% of domestic violence re-referrals were registered compared with 48% of the other re-referrals.
From these data, a clear pattern emerged that domestic violence
was treated differently from other abuse referrals. Despite being the
highest reason for original referrals, the data show that domestic
violence is either not considered as a child protection issue or is
responded to less seriously than other forms of abuse and neglect.
At all stages of statutory child protection intervention, domestic
violence referrals were filtered out at a far greater rate than
other referrals. At intake, a greater number of domestic violence
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Domestic violence
referrals were
filtered out at a far
greater rate than
other referrals

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318

Domestic violence
re-referrals being
much less likely to
be registered

Irwin and Waugh

referrals were recorded as information only, a lower proportion

underwent investigative assessments and a higher percentage
were confirmed but fewer were registered and followed up. A
similar pattern emerged with re-referrals with domestic violence
re-referrals being much less likely to be registered than other
referrals and more likely to be referred to other support services
and closed. The interviews undertaken with the intake workers
and their supervisors provide a partial explanation for this.

Interviews with Statutory Child Protection Workers

These two groups

struggled to identify
domestic violence
unless it was very
obvious

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Although the child at risk category emotional abuse due to exposure to domestic violence had been included as a reason for child
abuse referrals in June 1994, less than half of the 20 practitioners
interviewed had undertaken training about assessing risk related
to domestic violence. The domestic violence knowledge of the
statutory child protection practitioners in this study varied considerably and fell into four broad groups. The first group of practitioners perceived that domestic violence was not a child protection
issue unless the child was physically hurt or saw the abuse of their
mother. These practitioners tended to have narrow understandings
of domestic violence as either physical abuse, or the threat of such
abuse. They had limited knowledge of the dynamics of domestic
violence, especially as it related to children. While the second group
of practitioners had a greater knowledge and understanding of
domestic violence, especially as it related to children and young
people, like the first group they considered domestic violence only
of concern when children or young people saw physical violence
between their parents/carers. They had only minimal understanding of the broader implications of living in a household where
there is domestic violence. These two groups struggled to identify
domestic violence unless it was very obvious. The third group
demonstrated a more comprehensive knowledge of domestic
violence and the effects of living in a household where domestic
violence is present. These practitioners had confidence in assessing the impact of domestic violence. They frequently saw women
as having the responsibility to protect their children. The fourth
group also had a comprehensive knowledge of domestic violence
especially as it related to children and young people. For these practitioners, the womans and childrens safety was inter-dependent.
The largest numbers of practitioners fell into the second (eight)
and third groups (six) with three each in the first and fourth groups.
Understanding of domestic violence and their view about whether
it constituted a child protection issue were highly influential in how
these practitioners responded to referrals of child abuse based
primarily on domestic violence.
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Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Australia

319

Implications for Policy and Practice

The inclusion of domestic violence as a discrete criterion in child
protection appears to have created a milieu in which the technical
process associated with the recording of domestic violence has
become the focus of the child protection statutory authority response. Whilst the data indicate that increasing numbers of child
abuse referrals contain domestic violence as a factor in the abuse,
there appears to be no concomitant perceptual or service delivery
response.
Despite the frequency of links between domestic violence and
child abuse having been established (see for example Radford and
Hester, 2006, pp. 5456), this research shows that even though
domestic violence is included as an official form of child abuse, it
is dealt with differently and treated less seriously as a risk of harm
compared to other forms of abuse and neglect. The serious consequences that living with domestic violence can have on children
and their mothers has been confirmed by research undertaken in
numerous countries in the western world (Mullender et al., 2002;
Stanley et al., 2003; Breckenridge and Ralfs, 2006; Radford and
Hester, 2006; Humphreys and Stanley, 2006; Houghton, 2006). In
NSW this is evident in the NSW Child Death Review Team reports
and in the NSW Ombudsmans Reviewable Deaths Annual Reports
(NSW Ombudsman, 2004, 2005, 2006). In the 200001 CDRT
report, 21 children in NSW died as a consequence of abuse or
neglect or suspicious of abuse and neglect. There was a history of
domestic violence in 18 of the families of these children (NSW
Child Death Review Team, 2001). In the 2001 02 report, a similar
number of children died as a consequence of abuse or neglect
or suspicious of abuse and neglect, with 17 having a history of
domestic violence (NSW Child Death Review Team, 2002). In the
NSW Ombudsmans first Reviewable Deaths Annual Report 2003
2004, there were 161 reviewable deaths over the period January
2003 to June 2004. Of these, there were 96 reports of risk of harm
related to domestic violence. The report states:
Seven of the children whose deaths were reviewed in detail had been
reported to DoCS for concerns about exposure to domestic violence. In none
of these cases did we find any evidence of DoCS making referrals to external
agencies specialising in support of victims of domestic violence or agencies
specialising in treatment of perpetrators. (NSW Ombudsman, 2004, p. 62.)

We argue that contact with or referral to a health, community

or human service professional creates a possibility for women,
children and young people who live with domestic violence to be
offered services and support which may enable them to begin to
make changes in their lives. The importance of offering access to
such services is supported in research undertaken by Mullender and
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Be no concomitant
perceptual or
service delivery
response

Services and
support which
may enable them
to begin to make
changes in their
lives

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320

Living with
domestic violence
was not
conceptualised as a
real child protection
issue

The gendered
nature of domestic
violence, power
and control issues
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Irwin and Waugh

colleagues (2002) in which children and their mother were interviewed about their experiences of living with domestic violence.
The research showed that listening to children and supporting
mothers to connect with their children are key functions of
agencies, creating opportunities to understand and enhance safety.
Irrespective of the controversy around the mandatory reporting
of domestic violence to the NSW statutory child protection agency,
referrals to DoCS create this same possibility. In this study however, the opportunity for ongoing intervention was rarely realised.
Children, young people and their mothers who were exposed to
domestic violence and referred to the statutory child protection
authority were unlikely to receive protective intervention, support
or referral to other agencies. Was this because of an overwhelming
increase in the numbers of notifications combined with statutory
practitioners limited understandings about the complexities surrounding domestic violence, resulting in less priority given to
investigating such notifications? Was it because of the complexity
of the situations with domestic violence often co-occurring with
other with other forms of abuse such as parental drug and alcohol
misuse and /or mental health concerns? For whatever reason, the
opportunity for intervention was lost. The women and their
children received inadequate or no risk assessments, limited referral and support, sporadic or no follow up or referral to agencies
largely because, for whatever reason, living with domestic violence
was not conceptualised as a real child protection issue. Despite
the NSW government being committed to a co-ordinated and
comprehensive response to promote the protection of children
and young people and their families, this was only rarely evident
in the referrals based on domestic violence. All too frequently the
chances to provide women and their children with support were lost.
We are arguing for a response that is sympathetic to women
and their children who live with domestic violence, linking them
with supportive and empowering services rather than one that
ignores the impact of violence, is punitive and blaming of women
for not protecting their children. Protecting children from harm is
not the responsibility for only one agency, it requires collaboration
from both public and community based agencies working effectively together to reduce the risks to children (see for example and
Stanley and Humphreys, 2006). In a review of six research studies
on domestic violence, Radford and Hester (2006) conclude that
if there is to be positive practice with children and mothers who
live with domestic violence, then a multi-agency approach is
crucial and has to underpin any work by welfare or other agencies
engaged in work with families experiencing domestic violence
(Radford and Hester, 2006, p. 149). Child protection services need
to understand the gendered nature of domestic violence, power
and control issues and ensure a supportive, positive rather than a
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Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Australia

321

punitive and mother-blaming approach (Radford and Hester, 2006,

p. 149).

Conclusion
Many women, children and young people who live with domestic
violence do have contact with health and human service agencies
so there are genuine opportunities to intervene and provide services and support. Unless child protection practitioners and policy
makers move beyond the rhetoric to take domestic violence seriously and develop relevant training and risk assessment processes
that account for the specific needs of children and young people who
live with domestic violence, effective services to children, young
people and their mothers will remain limited. We need to ensure
that practitioners work collaboratively to pick up the cues and
respond to domestic violence to end the kind of experience
described by an eight year participant in the research who said:
No one helped my mum.

No one helped my
mum

Acknowledgements
This research project was sponsored by a grant from the Australian
Research Council, Barnardos Australia and the NSW DoCS. The
research was undertaken with approval from the NSW DoCS.
However, the conclusions drawn from the study constitute the
views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view
of the NSW Government, The Minister for Community Services,
or the Department. The authors acknowledge the contribution of
the late Dr Marie Wilkinson to this project.

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Child Abuse Review Vol. 16: 311322 (2007)

DOI: 10.1002/car