The Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS) is an integrated duty lawyer and family violence support service program established in family law court registries under the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

This evaluation focused on the outputs and short-term outcomes of the FASS. For the evaluation, deep-dive visits to a sample of nine FASS sites around Australia were conducted which involved qualitative data collection including client surveys, service observations and semi-structured interviews with program staff and court personnel. Aggregate quantitative data from all 23 service locations was also analysed. 

The evaluation found the FASS was an effective and important program that filled a gap in service provision to family law clients and suggested a number of program enhancements and systemic changes to improve outcomes for vulnerable families.

FASS clients are likely to: 

• be self-represented;
• be particularly vulnerable due to family violence;
• experience complex social issues compounding family violence, and
• present with other legal matters which cross over jurisdictions.