The community's focus needs to shift from victims to perpetrators to interrupt the cycle of violence, finds the report from RMIT's Centre for Innovative Justice, which is headed by former Victorian attorney-general Rob Hulls.

"These recommendations are about removing the burden from victims of family violence and placing it squarely on the system," Ms Batty said at the launch on Thursday morning.

"They point to opportunities ... to guarantee the justice system interacts more effectively with perpetrators of family violence and ensure they don't slip off the radar."

The report recommends:

"Swift and certain" sanctioning, such as "flash" incarceration for 24 hours if an intervention order is broken.

Courts consider "one judge, one family" schemes, where a family is brought back before the same judge for all matters, including family law disputes.

All magistrates get specialist family violence training.

Courts should be able to provide referrals to behaviour change services for men who use, or are suspected of using, family violence.

That men's behavioural change programs - which encourage men who use violence to examine their behaviour - be properly funded.

A national conference to highlight the best international and local ideas to stop men who use violence, in addition to a national crisis summit on family violence that is currently being proposed by federal Labor.

Mr Hulls said there was often little consequence when a perpetrator breached an intervention order, and courts should be able to apply a short, sharp period of incarceration.

"We know enough about existing cost of family violence that we can't go down the same path and keep expecting things to change," he said.

Victoria Legal Aid's managing director Bevan Warner said the report recognised that lawyers were important to "making sure perpetrators understand their behaviour is unlawful, that they must comply with intervention orders and in referring them to services such as behavioural change, mental health or addiction programs".

"It also shows that when perpetrators have legal advice it is more likely that the outcome is an order they will be able to comply with. This is about providing advice that will prevent violence escalating and keep women and children safe."

A copy of the federally funded report has already been given to the office of Attorney-General George Brandis, and it is expected to be one of the first submissions considered by the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800 737 732

Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491

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