Victim of Crime
A victim of crime includes a primary, secondary and related victim as defined by sections 9, 13 and 15 of the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Act 2022.
Applications for Assistance
Complex application
A complex application is an application that involves one or more of the complexity factors below (at section 20.1 of the Financial Assistance Scheme Guidelines):
- character considerations
- special circumstances for not reporting to, or assisting, police
- a finding of not guilty in a court outcome in relation to the violent act supporting the application
- an applicant who is suffering from trauma
- an out of time application
- a significant number of related acts
- multiple related acts and multiple injuries
- a victim with complex injuries
- documentary evidence that the lawyer must source from third parties
- a notice of intention to refuse the application from the VFAS
- a victim who may face barriers or structural inequalities or disadvantages in accessing the VFAS without legal representation which may include
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- LGBTQIA+ communities
- children and young people
- older people
- people who have recently arrived in Australia
- refugees and asylum seekers
- people with low education levels or who have difficulty reading and writing
- social exclusion (victims of crime that are marginalised or lack social support)
- disability or health issues, including mental health issues
- people experiencing substance dependence or homelessness
- people in State custody or mental health facilities
- people who have limited access to technology or require support to access technology.
Associated application
An associated application is an application connected to another application that has one or more of the complexity factors outlined above (and at section 20.1 of the Financial Assistance Scheme Guidelines) and where the lawyer is representing:
- Multiple family members of the same deceased primary victim, or
- Multiple victims of the same incident or act of violence.
Complex variation application
A complex variation application is an application that has one or more of the complexity factors outlined below which include (outlined at section 20.1 of the Financial Assistance Scheme Guidelines):
- Character considerations which are relevant to a variation application
- Substantive variations of a VOCAT award
- Documentary evidence that the lawyer must source from third parties to support the variation, and
- A victim who may face barriers seeking a variation application without legal representation.
Review of a Decision
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) may make a grant of legal assistance to a victim of crime to review a decision made under the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Act 2022 that constitutes a reviewable decision as per section 44 of the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Act 2022.
Legal assistance may be granted for internal review of a decision by the scheme decision-maker or an application to VCAT for review of a decision (sections 45 & 46 of the Act).
Updated