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Methodology

Family Violence Assault — Methodology and Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17

What this measures

Recorded family-violence-flagged assault offences in Victoria — sum of FV Serious Assault (A211) + FV Common Assault (A231) from Vic CSA Recorded Offences Table 01.

The "FV" flag indicates the offence occurred in a family-violence context as defined by the Family Violence Protection Act 2008.

Why FV assault, not "family incidents"

CSA also publishes "family incidents" — a much broader measure that includes police call-outs without any offence recorded. That table is in a separate XLSX. Family Violence Assault is the narrower, offence-based measure and is what the brief calls for in Section 7.

Year cadence

Year-ending-December (calendar year).

Trend reading

Roughly flat through 2017-2023 (~21-23K per year), with a 2024-25 uptick. The flat level masks a methodology evolution: Vic Police's response practice has tightened over the decade (more incidents recorded as offences rather than non-offence callouts), which would push counts up even if underlying behaviour were flat.

Sources