Finding into death of Zahra Rahimzadegan

Contributing factors

• long history of physical abuse and threats by perpetrator
• escalating controlling and obsessive behaviour by perpetrator
• deceased's attempt to leave the relationship
• perpetrator's jealousy and suspicion of affair
• inadequate family violence screening by counselling service
• inappropriate couple's counselling referral despite known violence history
• failure to assess and manage family violence risk during counselling
• failure to inform counsellors of prior family violence history
• lack of coordination between intervention order process and child protection
• failure to identify escalating risk when deceased was attempting to leave

Coroner's recommendations

1. CityLife Community Care (CLCC) should ensure that the organisation's couple's counselling intake form prompts screening questions to be asked which give effect to the requirement to 'establish a risk or history of family violence', and further ensure that potential participants have the opportunity to provide that information in a safe and confidential environment.
2. CLCC should ensure that the organisation has clear and established referral policies and pathways to allow referral to culturally appropriate men's behaviour change, or similar programs.
3. CLCC should ensure that the organisation has clear and established referral pathways which allow for disclosures or identified risks of family violence to be referred to appropriately qualified agencies.
4. CLCC should develop and publish a clear policy on whether or not couple's counselling can be provided where there is a history or risk of family violence, and to the extent that the organisation determines that couple's counselling may proceed in those circumstances, the additional safeguards and safety planning that are required.
5. CLCC should ensure that their counsellors understand that, irrespective of the screening processes employed at intake and the characterisation of the presenting issue, family violence screening and risk assessment is their ongoing responsibility, and further ensure that their counsellors have the professional training and tools to be able to competently and consistently undertake this task and respond appropriately to any disclosures.