Who can claim?

If you have been the victim of a violent crime including a sexual assault or molestation you may be able to seek compensation in the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal. This can include a lump sum payment up to $7500, counselling, loss of wages, medical bills and replacing damaged clothing. In some cases it may be possible to claim a special award such as the costs of a holiday, a computer, or a self defence course to assist with the healing process.

Where someone has died as a result of a violent crime their family members may be able to claim as “related victims”.

Other people such as witnesses to violent crimes or parents of victims may also have rights to claim as “secondary victims”.

What do I need to do to make a claim?

As a first step it is important where possible to report the attack to the police. This may apply even if the attacker is unknown or in the case of an incident from childhood the attack happened many years ago. However if there is a good reason for not reporting the matter to police the Tribunal may consider this.

It is then necessary to complete an application for assistance. The forms for this can be found on the Tribunal website or at a local Magistrates’ Court. Alternatively you might contact a lawyer. Lawyers’ fees for doing this work are all paid for by the Tribunal so you do not have to worry about finding money for this.

Sometimes counsellors and victim support groups also have these forms. Fortunately the forms are not difficult to complete.

Do I have to go to Court?

Once the application has been accepted for filing by the Tribunal it will usually be necessary to have a professional psychological report prepared. This is to give the Tribunal information such as how the attack has affected you. This report can be arranged by a solicitor. Sometimes your counsellor will do this. Again the costs of this are covered by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal will also provide a Statement of Claim form on which you set out the items you are claiming attaching copies of reports and tax invoices where appropriate. The solicitor can complete this for you if you wish.

Once all the necessary documents have been filed with the Tribunal it may make a preliminary ruling without a Court hearing. If this is done you will receive a notice of the decision with the option to accept it or reject it.

If you accept the decision the matter will be finished and payments made accordingly without any need for you to attend Court.

If you wish to challenge the preliminary decision, for example by seeking a higher award, then the Tribunal will fix a date for a hearing. If you prefer this can be in a closed Court i.e. a hearing where only you, your lawyer and the magistrate hearing the case are permitted into the Court room to protect your privacy.

For any Tribunal hearing it is strongly recommended that you seek advice from a lawyer.

It is important to remember that claims for compensation may take many months to finalise particularly if someone has been charged over your attack. In such cases the Tribunal will often await the outcome of these criminal proceedings before determining your claim.

Are there time limits to apply?

There is a time limit for applying of two years from the date of the attack. However this can be extended in some circumstances such as when the offence happened in childhood or the victim has been suffering a severe mental illness since the attack.

If you believe you have a claim that is outside the two year time limit you should discuss this with a solicitor as soon as possible.