Leading Senior Constable Greg Kew has taken up a new role as the region's family violence unit court liaison officer.

Justice system responses to family violence have been strengthened significantly in the three years since the 2016 Royal Commission.

In March 2016, the Royal Commission into family violence made 227 recommendations to prevent family violence, keep victim survivors safe and supported, and hold perpetrators to account.

The recommendations outlined the systemic and cultural change needed to achieve the vision of a state free from family violence.

As of January 1, more than 120 of those recommendations were implemented.

Leading Senior Constable Kew, a police officer for 16 years, said his new role was to help protect victims of family violence, as well as the children exposed to it.

Based at the Warrnambool Police Station, he works closely with family violence prosecutor Carolyn Howe, the Warrnambool police family violence investigation unit and the local court network.

"I am the Vic Pol connection with victims and perpetrators of family violence along with external agencies," Leading Senior Constable Greg Kew said.

He said he conducted risk assessments for upcoming intervention order hearings and assisted Mrs Howe with tailoring court orders to suit the needs of all parties involved.

He also assists in the location of perpetrators and the service of application and summons' for court orders to ensure the court process flows in a timely manner, and the victims and their children are properly protected.

"Some perps deliberately avoid service of orders which makes the service of the documents a lot more difficult," Leading Senior Constable Kew said.

The police officer also assists the family violence investigation unit in the execution of search warrants, the intervention order process and other duties when necessary.

But, at the end of the day, Leading Senior Constable Kew said the most important thing was ensuring the safety of the victim and their family.

"Some victims downplay the family violence by saying 'he doesn't hit the children or hurt them, it's only directed at me.' That is so not true," he said.

"On the contrary - every time a child is exposed to the fighting, the arguing or whatever is happening, it has an extremely detrimental impact on their psychological development.

"The more the kids are exposed to it, the greater the emotional stress and scarring. The kids were once mostly overlooked as all the attention was focused on the primary victim but it's changing now, there's a greater focus on the protection of the children, and rightly so.

"We've come a long way but having said that, we've still got a long way to go."

Warrnambool police Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Keogh said a family violence court liaison officer was "integral to looking after and supporting our victims".

"Since January we have responded to an average of 1800 family violence events, which is a 10 per cent increase from the previous year," he said.

"For this calendar year we've had 70 arrests, with a lot of focus on our recidivist offenders.

"That's 70 victims that have been protected."

Detective Senior Sergeant Keogh said since the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, victims were offered a lot more support in a court setting.

"And I think they have a lot more confidence in that support too," he said.

The new court liaison role is one of the many responses to family violence since the Royal Commission three years ago.

On every second Thursday, family violence-lead magistrate Noreen Toohey presides over matters in the Warrnambool Magistrate Court.

Family violence prosecutor Carolyn Howe said having a specialised magistrate, alongside the fast tracking of criminal hearings and determinations, made a huge difference.

"We are no longer just dealing with intervention orders on the one day, child protection another day and bail somewhere in the middle," she said.

"Now, because Ms Toohey presides over the criminal matters that relate to family violence, it's not being heard in a vacuum. She's hearing all the information - the alleged offending, what is going on with the kids, whether there are any existing court orders and making sure they're not contradicting each other."

Mrs Howe said additional specialised staff created better support and more protection for victims.

"In recent times we have been speaking to the AFM (affected family member) before court and working out what is safe and whether it's necessary to have them at court," she said.

"There was a big acceptance that our courts weren't necessarily always the safest place for AFMs after a woman was murdered outside the Sunshine Court straight after she filed an intervention order against her accused murderer."

Fiona Warzywoda, 33, was stabbed to death outside the Sunshine Magistrates Court in April 2014.

Mrs Howe said while magistrates approached family violence differently, they all agreed that "you don't need an AFM at court if they aren't going to be physically safe".

"The idea is that the family violence lawyers and family violence liaison officer work together with the AFM to get all the information they need to run the case without them present," she said.

"That way we keep them visibly safe."

The state government allocated $130 million in the 2017/18 budget to implement specialist family violence courts in Ballarat, Frankston, Shepparton, Moorabbin and Heidelberg.

Mrs Howe said a team-oriented approach made up for a lack of services in the south-west.

"We might not have the same services and specialisation as a Melbourne or Ballarat court but we are able to be creative and provide very similar services even though we aren't funded or don't have the particular people in particular roles," she said.

"We've got Emma House caseworkers at court on Thursdays for immediate referrals and we've got a new family violence liaison officer at the station, so if someone comes in and tells us something that has happened and they're ready to make a statement, we can refer them straight to the station to meet (Leading Senior Constable Kew).

"I think we've got a much more efficient service for victims than we've had in the past. It means they aren't left feeling like they're not sure what they're doing, whose looking after them and what is actually happening.

"They can walk away from court knowing exactly what has happened or we can ring them after and tell them what occurred."

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT or 1800RESPECT.org.au. Contact Emma House through 1800 EMMADV or emmahouse.org.au. Safe Steps for women after hours 188 015 188. In emergencies, call 000.

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