How OASIS Supports Compliance with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 represented a significant step forward in recognising domestic abuse as a complex issue requiring coordinated, specialist responses.

For organisations delivering domestic abuse (DA) support services, compliance extends far beyond record keeping. It means safeguarding victims, supporting informed risk assessments, enabling effective multi-agency working and demonstrating meaningful outcomes to commissioners. 

Having the right case management system plays a vital role in helping services meet these responsibilities. 

Supporting Consistent Risk Assessment 

Effective safeguarding begins with identifying and responding to risk consistently. 

OASIS for DA includes integrated domestic abuse risk assessment tools within everyday workflows, helping practitioners complete structured, auditable assessments as part of routine case management. This supports informed decision-making about the level of risk presented and whether a case meets the threshold for referral to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC). 

Embedding risk assessment directly into case recording helps services maintain consistency across teams while creating a clear audit trail to evidence professional decision-making. 

Supporting the Risk Assessment Tools Used Across the Sector 

The domestic abuse sector is in a period of transition. Following recommendations from the College of Policing, many police forces are adopting the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (DARA) for use by frontline officers responding to incidents. However, DARA was designed specifically for first responders and has not been developed or evaluated for specialist domestic abuse services or wider safeguarding partners. As a result, many independent domestic abuse services, IDVAs, MARAC partners and commissioned providers continue to use the DASH Risk Identification Checklist (DASH RIC) as their primary assessment tool.  Services may also use regional or more local risk assessments, or design custom risk assessments for their client base. 

OASIS reflects the reality of frontline practice; our Account Management teams check in regularly with our OASIS clients and learn about their changing needs and requirements. OASIS supports organisations using DASH within their day-to-day case management workflows while recognising that services often work alongside police partners who are using DARA. Some of our OASIS services also use Merit risk assessment or other tools alongside the DASH or in place of it. 

OASIS enables organisations to maintain consistent risk assessment processes, support effective multi-agency working and adapt as national guidance and local commissioning arrangements continue to evolve.  

Enabling Effective Multi-Agency Working

 

The Domestic Abuse Act places increasing emphasis on partnership working between local authorities, health services, police and specialist support organisations. 

OASIS has been developed specifically to support these complex, multi-agency environments. 

The system provides proven functionality for managing MARAC and Daily Risk Assessment Management Meetings (DRAMMs), allowing organisations to securely record referrals, actions and outcomes while maintaining a complete history of multi-agency involvement. 

Secure information sharing helps services work collaboratively whilst maintaining appropriate controls over highly sensitive information. 

Recognising Children as Victims in Their Own Right 

One of the most important changes introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was the legal recognition that children are victims of domestic abuse in their own right when they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse and are related to either the victim or perpetrator. 

Children do not have to be physically assaulted to experience harm. Witnessing abuse, overhearing incidents, living with coercive control or experiencing the ongoing effects of domestic abuse can all have profound and lasting impacts on their wellbeing, development and future outcomes. 

For domestic abuse services, this means capturing information about children is no longer simply supplementary information about an adult service user. It is an essential part of understanding the full impact of domestic abuse on the family and ensuring appropriate safeguarding and support. 

OASIS enables organisations to securely record and manage child-specific information alongside adult cases where appropriate. Services can capture details about children affected by domestic abuse, record safeguarding concerns, monitor interventions and report on the support provided to children as well as adults. 

This provides a more complete picture of service delivery, helping organisations evidence the full impact of their work while supporting compliance with the expectations of the Domestic Abuse Act. 

Aligning with National Standards 

For services in England, OASIS for DA can be enabled with Women's Aid's On Track module, developed in partnership with Women's Aid Federation of England to support nationally recognised data collection and outcome reporting. 

This enables organisations to collect consistent information, demonstrate outcomes and contribute anonymised data to national reporting on domestic abuse, just by using OASIS in their day-to-day work with survivors. 

Using recognised data standards also helps commissioners compare outcomes across services and better understand the impact of domestic abuse provision within their local areas. 

Find out more about OASIS with On Track at: https://womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/ontrack/ 

Protecting Highly Sensitive Information 

Domestic abuse services hold some of the most sensitive information within the health and social care sector. 

OASIS has been designed with security at its core. The platform is approved to store Official Sensitive information and is securely hosted within Microsoft Azure UK data centres, providing resilience, business continuity and high levels of data protection. 

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), role-based permissions and granular access controls ensure staff only access the information they need for their role, helping organisations protect survivors and reduce the risk of unauthorised access. 

Demonstrating Impact to Commissioners 

Increasingly, commissioners expect services to demonstrate not only activity but outcomes. 

OASIS transforms case data into meaningful reports that help organisations evidence demand, safeguarding activity, intervention outcomes and service impact. Rather than spending valuable time manually collating information, teams can generate reports that support contract monitoring, funding applications, inspections and service evaluation. 

This allows frontline organisations to spend more time supporting survivors while giving commissioners confidence that services are delivering measurable impact. 

More Than a Case Management System 

Meeting the requirements of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires more than simply storing information. It requires systems that support good safeguarding practice, informed decision-making, secure partnership working and meaningful outcome reporting. 

Designed specifically for charities, local authorities and specialist frontline services, OASIS for DA provides the tools organisations need to meet these challenges—helping practitioners focus on what matters most: supporting adults and children affected by domestic abuse safely, effectively and with confidence.