Plain Language Statement

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in participating in this Lucy’s Project research project. The following pages will provide you with further information about the project, so that you can decide if you would like to take part in this research.

Please take the time to read this information carefully. You may contact the researcher to inquire about anything you do not understand or would like to know more about.

Your participation is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you don’t have to. If you begin participating, you can also stop at any time.

What is this research about?

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997, which sets out the legal rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, changed on 2 March 2020 to include new provisions about pets. These new provisions state that landlords are unable to ‘unreasonably refuse’ their tenants from keeping an animal in the property. In cases where landlords do wish to deny permission, they can only do so with authorisation from the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on the basis that there is a legitimate reason for refusal. In practice, these legislation changes have made the vast majority of rental properties in Victoria animal-friendly.

Lucy’s Project is seeking to understand whether these legislation changes have facilitated Domestic and family violence/abuse (DFVA) victim-survivors’ ability to access safe, animal-friendly accommodation.

What will I be asked to do?

Should you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey via Alchemer. This survey will take approximately 5-15 minutes, depending on the detail you wish to provide in your answers.  In this survey you will be asked about your personal evaluation of the impacts of Victorian legislation changes on DFVA victim-survivors with animals with regards to their ability to access pet-friendly rental accommodation.

What are the possible benefits?

The benefits of this research will be your contribution to an important and under-researched topic in the Australian domestic and family violence sector. Prior research in this area has highlighted a lack of animal-friendly accommodation as a key barrier to safety for DFVA victim-survivors with animals. It is important to understand how and if legislation changes that increase the number of animal-friendly properties impact victim-survivors.

What are the possible risks?

This research will involve survey questions that relate to animal abuse and domestic and family violence. This topic can be confronting for some people. If there are any questions you do not feel comfortable answering, you have the option to skip that question. No question is mandatory.

If at any point during the survey you feel you do not wish to continue, you are able to exit the survey.

Do I have to take part?

No. Participation is completely voluntary. You are able to withdraw at any time.  You need not give any reason for your decision to withdraw. However, withdrawal procedures will depend upon how much time has elapsed since your completion of the survey. Once data has already been collected, analysed, and processed, it may not be possible to remove your data from the finalised research results.

Will I hear about the results of this project?

This research will be published by Lucy’s Project. This research will be publicly accessible through the Lucy’s Project website, where a downloadable report will be available under the ‘resources’ tab.

What will happen to information I have provided?

As there are questions that ask participants information about their clients, all survey data will be anonymised. The researcher will ensure that neither you nor your clients will be able to be identified by the data or information published in this research.

Once the data has been collected, survey responses will be anonymised and results will be stored on Lucy’s Project’s private OneDrive account. Access to this account is secure, and the individual data files will be password protected as an additional security measure.

Where can I get further information?

If you would like more information about the project, or if you have any concerns, please contact:

Kate Hammond (Researcher): 0493 101 412 | communicate@lucysproject.com.au

Anna Ludvik (Founder/President):  0428 530 097 | info@lucysproject.com.au