Marcia Neave led a government inquiry into prostitution in the 1980s, has led law reform inquiries into homicide and sex offences and has been Supreme Court judge at the Court of Appeal for the past eight years.

But she was still a child when she first realised the world could be an unjust place.

Born with a disability - a clubfoot - Commissioner Neave spent long periods of time in hospital when she was young.

"It sensitised me to the fact that people make assumptions about other people's abilities which are often superficial. And that used to annoy me."

A voracious reader and keen student, she grew up in Elwood in a family that supported women's education.

Although she attended a private school, she encountered children from very disadvantaged backgrounds through the work of her father, a paediatric surgeon who often worked pro bono at the Royal Children's Hospital.

Her early life gave her a lifelong fascination with justice in the broadest sense of the word: "A concern with people who, for whatever reason, had a lack of power in our society. And historically, that's always been women and children."

Over the next year Commissioner Neave and part-time Deputy Commissioners Patricia Faulkner and Tony Nicholson, will explore what many describe as an "epidemic" of family violence in Australian homes.

The breadth of the problem and the complexities involved in preventing it warrants the heft of a Royal Commission, Commissioner Neaves says.

Symbolically, it has great value because it shows the emphasis that the government is willing to place on the problem. And then there is funding: "We need to pull together a wide range of areas and that requires significant resources."

The focus of the $36 million commission is clear: the majority of victims of family violence are women and children, and that case will not have to be argued, Commissioner Neave says.

But commissioners also want to speak with groups where abuse is less understood: elders being abused by their children; those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities; people with disabilities; those who are newly arrived in Victoria and face language barriers; and Indigenous communities.

Public submissions are now open but, unlike the current Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, this commission will not hear public evidence from hundreds of family violence survivors.

Instead it might use case studies to expose the severity of family violence that occurs in private.

"We know family violence is an enormous problem already. This [submission] is not a description of the terrible family violence you may have suffered, it's about how the system helped you or didn't," Commissioner Neave says.

Working out ways to prevent family violence before it occurs will be key. Commissioners will draw experts together and look for ideas overseas, as well as holding forums in country areas.

She points out there have been successful attempts to change cultural norms in the past, like the .005 driving campaign or public education about HIV.

And it will stretch far wider than obvious players like the judicial system, policing and non-government organisations. Commissioner Neave hopes to consider how to spark cultural change in schools, sporting groups, local councils, the media, even popular culture.

"We're talking about family violence at a time when we have a film [50 Shades of Grey] that glorifies submission and domination. I don't know what to think about that."

She says the commission will hear from all groups, including men's rights groups who often dispute the extent and causes of family violence.

Having a dialogue with men is important, including those who think family violence is caused by factors outside of their control, like decisions made in the family court, for example, she says.

"It won't always be easy and people will say things we don't always like very much but we need to get those views."

Commission website: www.rcfv.com.au

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Family Counselling Service: 1800 737 732