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Collaboration between the Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS) at Australian Catholic University and the School of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Jacqui Stewart, Professor Daryl Higgins, Douglas Russell, Dr Emma Hussey and Dr Sebastian Trew (ICPS); Dr Michael Guerzoni (UTAS)
Tasmanian Government Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (DPFEM)
To assess the extent to which Arch had been implemented as planned and achieved desired service level outcomes.
Sexual violence is a serious and persistent issue in Australia, with devastating impacts on individuals, families and communities. People affected by sexual violence have diverse and complex needs, frequently requiring multiple interventions provided by a range of community-based services.
Multi-disciplinary, cross-agency responses are emerging to help address victim-survivors' needs. Evaluations reveal the extent to which initiatives were implemented as intended and achieved desired results. They also grow the evidence base about effective multi-disciplinary, cross-agency responses.
In March 2022, the Tasmanian Government committed to a two-year pilot of multidisciplinary centres for victims and survivors of sexual harm. Known as the multidisciplinary centres began operating from July 2023.
Arch represents a co-located, coordinated and collaborative, trauma-informed and victim-centred, multidisciplinary response to sexual harm. Arch currently operates in the south (Hobart) and north (Launceston) of Tasmania. Funding for Arch North West has been announced.
Service providers operating within Arch
To ensure the Arch pilot supported the needs of victim-survivors and achieved its outputs and service level outcomes, the DPFEM contracted Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS) to develop the first Arch Evaluation, Review and Monitoring Framework.
The DPFEM then commissioned ICPS, in partnership with the School of Social Sciences at UTAS, to implement that Framework.
The evaluation consisted of different phases of work, including:
The purpose of the evaluation was to establish the extent to which the Arch pilot was implemented as intended and achieved desired service level outcomes. The key data sources were interviews with professionals who had worked or were working within or overseeing the Arch pilot, administrative data (i.e., data that services collect about their operations within the pilot), documentation about the design and delivery of the Arch pilot and online surveys of Arch clients.
Data collection, analysis and write up proceeded in three stages, with the learnings of each stage informing the next:
Stage 1 focused on what progress has been made in establishing the Arch pilot. Data sources were administrative data, interviews with professionals and document analysis.
Stage 2 represented an opportunity for a deeper dive into issues or opportunities identified in stage one. The Arch partners and evaluation team elected to develop a custom tool to help assess the extent to which collaboration between partner services was occurring.
Stage 3 came at the end of the two-year pilot with a focus on service uptake, and realisation of desired service level outcomes. The project concluded with the development of a plan for ongoing monitoring and assessment of the Arch initiative.
The evaluation contributed to the evidence base on coordinated and collaborative, trauma-informed and victim-centred support. The Tasmania Government are using the findings to inform decision making about the design and delivery of Arch and other initiatives for people affected by sexual harm.
The ACU Human Research Ethics Committee (2024-3656X) reviewed and cleared the evaluation, and the Arch Management Group is overseeing the evaluation.
March 2024 – June 2025
For more information contact: icps@acu.edu.au
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