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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Tuesday, 25 May 2004) . . Page.. 2253 ..

The role of the Group includes improving the outcomes from the system and overseeing the Building for an ageing community strategy. The Group seeks to do this by, amongst other things:

• examining issues raised by service providers and peak bodies and responding to them in a coordinated and strategic manner; and

• developing system improvements in service delivery for the medium and longer term.

With respect to the second part of the Member’s previous question, it is the ACT Planning and Land Authority and the Land Development Agency that have the statutory authority to approve development applications and land sales respectively, not the SEWG.

Victims Assistance Board
(Question No 1477)

Mr Stefaniak asked the Attorney General, upon notice, on 1 April 2004:

(1) In relation to victims of crime, what is the role of the Victims Assistance Board (VAB);

(2) Has the VAB seen any victims and, if so, how many during the period 1 January 2003 to the 31 March 2004;

(3) Please list any benefits the VAB has brought in terms of assistance to victims since its inception;

(4) Why does the VAB get more money annually than the Victims of Crime Assistance League (VCAL);

(5) Has the VAB ever contacted the VCAL; if not, why not;

Mr Stanhope: The answer to the member’s questions is as follows:

(1) The Victims Assistance Board (VAB) was established under section 19 of the Victims of Crime Act 1994. Its role is prescribed in Regulation 6 of that Act

(2) The VAB's role does not extend to having direct contact with victims of crime. Members of the VAB may form the eligibility review committee established under Regulation 29 to the Act to review eligibility decisions of the responsible service agency if necessary. The Secretariat of the VAB has advised that to date this has not been necessary. As Secretariat, she occasionally takes calls from victims of crime and directs them to other agencies if she is unable to answer the enquiries but this is not her defined role.

(3) The VAB has brought significant benefits in terms of assistance to victims since its inception. These benefits include approval of service providers, improvements in the process of approval of service providers, development of selection criteria for service providers and the design of steps to help prevent burnout of providers thus ensuring the provision of quality services to victims of crime.

The VAB has also achieved the improvement in the transparency of processes. For example, ensuring that the people who approve providers are not the people who give victims of crime the names of providers

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