Page 752 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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As an example, the new scheme will provide assistance for the relatives of people who die as a result of a homicide, as well as witnesses to homicides. I think we can all agree that witnessing a homicide or having a family member fall victim to a homicide is an almost unimaginably traumatic event that would change one’s life forever. Dependants of a homicide victim will now be able to receive recognition payments individually rather than having to share a lump sum payment with other dependants. Witnesses to homicide will be recognised for the first time.
The new scheme will also assist victims by being quicker and simpler to navigate. Currently, the victims of crime financial assistance scheme is court based. This has been the subject of criticism, including by the Ombudsman, who said that the scheme was difficult to navigate and was inadequately meeting the needs of victims.
The bill reforms the scheme into an administrative scheme, allowing applications to be processed more efficiently. It will be managed by the Victims of Crime Commissioner, who is supported by caseworkers. As the Attorney-General outlined in his introduction speech, the intention is that applicants will be supported by holistic case management processes and they will be saved the difficulties of attending court and engaging legal representation. This is a better way to run the scheme, particularly when victims of crime already likely have enough burdens to deal with, without going through extra hassles to receive financial assistance.
Under the new scheme there will be four types of payment available to victims, whereas the current scheme only has two. These are special assistance payments and reimbursement of costs incurred.
The new scheme will allow payments in the areas of immediate need payments, economic loss payments, recognition payments and funeral expense payments. Again I support this change as a way of making the scheme more flexible and able to meet the various needs of victims.
In particular, I note the category of immediate need payments as an important way to respond to the urgent needs of victims. As the Attorney-General explained by way of example, in the situation where a person is assaulted and requires urgent dental treatment but cannot afford it, an immediate need payment would allow the commissioner to pay a dentist or surgeon directly so that the person could be treated. Another example might be if a victim of domestic violence needs immediate assistance to secure their premises.
I am pleased to note that the new scheme specifically recognises victims of domestic violence. The new types of payments covering immediate needs and economic loss will better assist these victims. The bill also broadens the definition of “injury” for domestic violence victims and sexual assault victims, allowing more victims to receive assistance whereas the previous scheme would have excluded them. Amendments will also mean that victims of sexual assault and domestic violence will no longer need to prove the extent of their injuries or undergo psychological assessment in all applications.
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