Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference

What is MARAC?

Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference for Domestic Abuse

 

What is MARAC for?

In a single meeting, a domestic abuse MARAC combines up-to-date risk information with a comprehensive assessment of a victim's needs and links those directly to the provision of appropriate services for all those involved in a domestic abuse case: victim, children and perpetrator.

 

What are the aims of the MARAC?

  • To reduce the risk of serious harm or homicide for a victim and to increase the safety, health and wellbeing of victims - adults and any children.
  • To share information to increase the safety, health and well being of victims - adults and their children;
  • To determine whether the perpetrator poses a significant risk to any particular individual or to the general community;
  • To construct jointly and implement a risk management plan that provides professional support to all those at risk and that reduces the risk of harm;
  • To reduce repeat victimisation;
  • To improve agency accountability; and
  • Improve support for staff involved in high-risk DA cases.

The responsibility to take appropriate actions rests with individual agencies; it is not transferred to the MARAC. The role of the MARAC is to facilitate, monitor and evaluate effective information sharing to enable appropriate actions to be taken to increase public safety.

The MARAC will help you ensure that those high risk victims you support are better protected from further abuse by a coordinated effort from all agencies and organisations. The MARAC helps high risk victims access more resources locally, helps you build relationships with local agencies and impacts on the core of your work - safety planning with the victim.

 

What cases are discussed?

The highest risk cases of domestic abuse are discussed at MARAC. These will have been identified by a practitioner from any agency using an evaluated risk assessment tool (in this case the MARAC DASH risk assessment checklist). It is recommended that the MARAC should initially see the top 10% of cases in an area in terms of risk profile. This may include cases of extended family violence including so-called ‘honour' based violence.