Australian Welfare Law: Services for Victims of Crime

This report provides an overview of the welfare laws and support systems in place for victims of crime in Australia. It details the legal framework, including the Victims of Crime Act 2001, which emphasizes the rights of victims and mandates respectful treatment. The report discusses the government's compensation schemes, offering financial assistance to victims for physical, mental, and emotional harm, as well as to family members of murder victims. It highlights the role of the Commissioner for Victim Rights, who provides guidance and assistance to victims navigating the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the report covers the National Redress Scheme, which supports individuals who have suffered child sexual abuse. The report also examines relevant legislation in Victoria, such as the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 and the Sentencing (Victims Impact Statement) Act 1994, outlining the financial compensation provided by the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal. This includes the types of expenses covered and the eligibility criteria, emphasizing the police's commitment to reducing victimization and providing quality services. The report concludes by summarizing the government's multifaceted approach to supporting victims of crime, emphasizing esteem and respect for all victims.

Bachelor of community services

RELEVANT WELFARE LAW RELATED WITH VICTIMS OF CRIME
The present study provides an overview of the existing conditions with respect to services for
victims of crime in Australia. The study contains laws, regulations, and approaches set up by the
government with the objective of welfare of victim of crime. The victim is referred to as a person
who, individually or jointly, have agonized injury. The harm may be emotional, mental, physical,
financial loss, or significant impairment of fundamental right of person (Murphy, Liddell, &
Bugeja, 2016). Further, the term victim also consists of family member or dependent on direct
victim and any individual who suffered from harm in prevailing to assist victim is grief or to
avoid victimization. With this aspect, government has introduced several reforms for welfare of
victim of crime (Farmer, 2016). The government recognized the power of victim under the rules
and regulations. The victims of crime Act 2001 prescribes standards with relation to the
treatment of victims of crime consists a need that victims are treated with esteem and kindness. It
is required by the government officials and agencies to follow with these standards, which are
generally referred to as right of the victim.
From 1969, the government has provided compensation to the victim even if the criminal cannot
be established or cannot pay. It is referred as scheme of government. In this scheme, victim of
crime can claim compensation (Daly, & Sarre, 2016). It can consist of physical harm or mental
harm. Moreover, close family member of a murder victim can also be reimbursed. On the other
hand, in this scheme, the victim of crime cannot be compensated for property loss or damages to
property (Daly, & Holder, 2019).
The commissioner of victim right provides victims dealing with the criminal justice system and
government actions. The commissioner offers information, guidance, and assistance to an

individual who is injured and their families and associates to deal with monetary, emotional, and
physical effect of crime (Flynn, Naylor, & Fernandez Arias, 2016). The effect of crime can
fluctuate significantly. For example, for some victim the impact is short; however for some
individual the effect is enduring. Irrespective, several victims consider that criminal justice
system is complex and unapproachable. Thus, by obtaining assistance from commissioner victim
may resolve their issues in secure manner. In addition to this, commissioner can also participate
in some criminal proceeding and discuss on grievances of the victim of crime (Booth, &
Carrington, 2017).
In addition to this, the National Redress scheme also provides support to the individual who
suffered from injury. In this scheme, individual who injured due to child sexual abuse can get
assistance. Assistance in this scheme is consisting of direct personal response, a monetary
amount, and obtaining counselling and functional services (Naylor, & Tyson, 2017). The latest
Royal Commission into established retorts to child sexual exploitation attended to several people
regarding the exploitation they experienced as a child. Therefore, the Royal Commission made
advice with respect to redressing these problems. As an outcome, the government of Australia
establishes the National Redress Scheme. All public and regional government have dedicated to
this scheme (Victims of Crime 2019).
In Victoria, there is two relevant legislation which is engaging in victims of crime such as
Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996, and Sentencing (Victims Impact Statement) Act 1994.
The main objective of this act to provide financial assistance to a person who has suffered from
significant crime initiated in victoria. With this aspect, Victim of the offense may create victim
impact statement, in case if a person has been considered as guilty of an offence. This statement

is made to the court for the ascertainment of sentence. This statement may possess information
regarding the harm, injury, losses, or destruction from the offence (Guerzoni, & Graham, 2015).
Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal provide financial compensation to the victim of crime. For
obtaining financial assistance, it is required that victim should be suffered from significant crime
that results in damages or harm. The harm may be emotional, physical, or mental. Further, victim
also knows about the connection between crime and harm. Within a reasonable period of time,
crime should be reported to the police. In other words it can be said that tribunal should be able
to ascertain that crime has committed. Further, time limit for obtaining financial assistance is
within two years from the date of crime. However, it is not applicable in case of childhood
sexual crime. In some cases, time limit may be extended by tribunal. The tribunal may provide
assistance with a range of expenditure such as medical, counselling, security-related, and funeral
expenditure. Victim of crime may also receiver for lost profits and other rational expenses to
help recovery. Moreover, the amount of financial assistance is based on whether victim is
suffered from crime, any person who evidenced a crime or is a guardian of a child victim, a
family member or dependent of the person who has died due to the activities of violence.
The Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 restrict the amount of assistance that can be given to
a specific victim in respect of an act of violence. The primary victim can avail maximum award
of up to $60000, and addition of $ 10000 of special monetary assistance. Further, in case of
secondary victim the maximum amount of financial assistance is $ 50000. For anyone who is
connected to the victim, the maximum amount of financial assistance is $50000.
Along with this, there are several awards also provided to a victim of crime. However, the
categories of award are based on whether a person is a primary victim, secondary victim, and

relative of victim. In case of primary victim, he/she can claim for expenses that are incurred or
likely to be occurred, medical expenditure, counseling expenses, loss of profit up to $ 20000,
security-related expenses, damages to apparel while activity of violence, and some specific
financial assistance (Assistance available under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act, 2019)
According to section 56 of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996, the applicant may also
apply for an interim award of assistance due the final ascertainment of application. In the total
financial assistance, interim award is available to victim up to the maximum amount of $ 60000
for primary victim. However, for secondary and relative of victim this amount is up to $ 50000.
At the time of final determination of amount, the interim award should be deduced from total
amount of assistance (Assistance available under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2019).
Along with above aspect, the police of victoria also engaged in providing superior quality
services and are promised to decreasing victimization, increasing services of those in require of
help, and creating confidence and trust among society. The main objective of the police officer to
sustain human rights, provide services in respectful manner, reduce secondary victimization, and
provide support in an equitable and responsive manner.
On the basis of the above analysis, it has been asserted that government has implemented several
approaches for welfare of victim of crime. The main objective of all approaches is to treat all
victims with esteem and respect. The opinion of victim is also considered in all approaches. It
has been seen that financial assistance is also provided to victim of crime for recovery of
damages or loss.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Booth, T., & Carrington, K. (2017). Victims support in policy and legal process in
Australia. Handbook of Victims and Victimology, 98.
Daly, K., & Holder, R. L. (2019). State payments to victims of violent crime: discretion and bias
in awards for sexual offences. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(5), 1099-1118.
Daly, K., & Sarre, R. (2016). Criminal justice system: Aims and processes. Crime and justice: A
guide to criminology, 5.
Farmer, C. (2016). Victoria’s banning notice provisions: Parliamentary, procedural and
individual vulnerabilities. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 2(3),
173-184.
Flynn, C., Naylor, B., & Fernandez Arias, P. (2016). Responding to the needs of children of
parents arrested in Victoria, Australia. The role of the adult criminal justice
system. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 49(3), 351-369.
Guerzoni, M., & Graham, H. (2015). Catholic Church responses to clergy-child sexual abuse and
mandatory reporting exemptions in Victoria, Australia: A discursive critique. International
Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 4(4), 58-75.
Murphy, B., Liddell, M., & Bugeja, L. (2016). Service contacts proximate to intimate partner
homicides in Victoria. Journal of family violence, 31(1), 39-48.

Naylor, B., & Tyson, D. (2017). Reforming defences to homicide in Victoria: Another attempt to
address the gender question. International journal for crime, justice and social
democracy, 6(3), 72-87.
Online
Assistance available under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act. (2019) .Retrieved from
<https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/content/6-assistance-available-under-victims-crime-
assistance-act>
Victims of Crime. (2019). Retrieved from<https://www.police.vic.gov.au/victims-crime>