NSW Victims of Crime Compensation

The role of compensation lawyers is to provide sound legal advice to clients who have suffered personal injury or damages and use their extensive legal expertise to guide their clients throughout the process, earning them the financial compensation they deserve. This compensation is important, as it’s needed to fund treatments or cover expenses related to the injury or damages. Through the process of mediation and negotiation, a compensation lawyer can help you make and manage your claim, as well as navigate the process moving forward.

According to the Victims Support Scheme, Victims of Crime Compensation is financial assistance for economic loss (loss of earnings) and cover the expenses/other costs that assist you with your recovery or cover the cost of arranging a funeral on behalf of a family member of a homicide victim. This is also referred to as a recognition payment – a payment made to acknowledge that a violent crime has been committed against you.

Individuals who have suffered as a result of a violent crime in NSW may be eligible to make a compensation claim. Based on these criteria, claimants must fit one of three categories: primary, secondary, and family victims.

A primary victim is an individual directly injured as a result of a violent crime – either because they were targeted or because of an attempt to intervene (i.e. trying to stop another person from committing a violent act or trying to rescue a victim). If you have sustained an injury – physical and/or psychological – as a result of a violent crime, you are entitled to claim compensation, including financial assistance and access to support services. An individual may sustain a physical or psychological injury due to physical assault, sexual assault, abuse, family and domestic violence, or robbery.

A secondary victim is an individual who witnessed the crime against the primary victim/s and was injured as a result. Witnesses to a violent crime may also be eligible to make a compensation claim if they sustain traumatic psychological injuries. In saying this, a secondary victim could also be a parent/guardian who was psychologically injured as a result of their child being injured or dying.

A family victim is a member of the immediate family (e.g. spouse, de facto partner, parent, guardian, step-parent, child, step-child, sibling) of the primary victim/s who has died or has been injured as a direct result of a violent act.

If you are a primary, secondary, or family victim, you should obtain legal advice as to your rights as a victim and ascertain whether you are eligible to claim compensation and receive care under the NSW Government’s Victims’ Support Scheme.

A successful victims’ compensation claim under the Victims’ Support Scheme covers financial assistance and access to support services. Cover includes:

• Counselling, mental health, and victims services to assist with trauma and psychological injury.
• Financial assistance for immediate needs – medical expenses, costs associated with ensuring safety and wellbeing, funeral expenses – or economic loss such as lost earnings, living costs, and ongoing expenses.
• Recognition payment – a lump sum payment to acknowledge the trauma suffered by the victim/s.

Victims Services advises that a claim can take up to 2 years from the time of lodging the application to the time your claim is finalised. Each case is unique and can be complex depending on the circumstances, so it does take time to resolve. In saying this, you will not be required to go to Court and most of the process will be handled by your compensation lawyer.

All compensation monies awarded to the victim/s is paid directly by the Victims Compensation Scheme. If the offender (the person who caused the injury) has been convicted in a Criminal Court for the offence, they may be pursued by the Scheme to repay the compensation awarded to the victim/s.