Passers-by will have noticed the construction work at the Ballarat Law Courts on Dana Street.
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Soon, a refreshed office for Ballarat's Family Violence Unit will open there, providing a valuable resource for vulnerable people seeking court orders and other assistance.
The renovations have pushed Ballarat's police prosecutors to a temporary home in Sebastopol - a cause of some consternation, with officers dashing back to pick up files on their lunch breaks - but they too will soon have a new home.
A new police office will open on Dana Street, across the road from the Ballarat police station, in the coming months.
It will house the prosecutions unit, the Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigations Team, and the Family Violence Investigations unit, which will soon be boosted with an additional six specialists.
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According to Court Services Victoria, the upgrades at the Ballarat Law Courts will help fulfil a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Family Violence - the specialist family violence court division.
Ballarat is one of five headquarter courts across Victoria which first received funding in the 2017-18 state budget, but the division has been operating in Ballarat since 2005.
The extra funding, and new facilities, will help reduce the amount of times the same family has to attend court by bundling together matters where possible, as well as providing extra resources like specially-trained magistrates and court staff, and family violence practitioners.
The capital works program will bring safe waiting areas and interview rooms, as well as separate courtroom entrances for victims and remote witness facilities, including child-friendly spaces.
The new Dana Street offices over the road will help foster connections between different units in Ballarat, which will mean better results for people, according to head of the police prosecutions unit, Senior Sergeant Adam McCormack.
"Not only are we not a standalone unit - we have to be independent - but we'll be in the same building so we can build those relationships for greater understanding in other roles," he said.
"It's bright, spacey, modern, and new, and it's close to court and the police station, which is terrific."
The specialist family violence court upgrades will also help make difficult court dates run more smoothly, he added.
"It'll only be a benefit to victims of family violence, and children particularly," he said.
"Our family violence division within prosecutions is likely to be expanding within 12 months, with another lawyer on board and more staff here, because unfortunately the stats show there's more and more family violence and it's becoming more prevalent."
The additional resources, and new facilities, were welcomed by Ballarat's White Ribbon Committee, which promotes initiatives to end men's violence against women.
"Unfortunately we need these specialist family violence police officers, because it is a specialised area of work," committee representative Bob Maika said.
"Having these extra family violence officers allocated to Ballarat is a good thing - our family violence services already work quite closely with Ballarat police, and more officers doing that sort of work is going to enhance the work we do in the family violence space."
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