Guide to assessing victims for financial assistance

Part of the Financial assistance for victims topic

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What you should know

When you make a claim for financial assistance and recovery expenses as a victim or crime, you will be assessed to establish your identity and eligibility.

You will be assessed on the:

• type of victim you are, and
• injuries you sustained.

Types of victims

• Primary victims
• Primary special victims
• Related victims
• Parent secondary victims
• Witness victims

Primary victims

A primary victim is a person who is a person directly injured by an act of violence.

They are the main victim. Children and other family members who are living in a home where domestic violence happens can also be a primary victim—if the violence was directed at them, a parent, a caregiver, or other family members living in the home.

They might have:

• been physically abused by the offender
• been threatened or coerced by the offender
• been emotionally, psychologically, or economically abused by the offender
• had their property deliberately damaged by the offender
• comforted or helped a person who has been physically abused
• observed bruising or other injuries of a person who has been physically abused
• cleaned up a site after property has been damaged
• been present at a domestic violence incident that is attended by police officers
• experienced financial stress arising from economic abuse
• been otherwise restrained, controlled, or dominated by the offender in a frightening way, including:
  • having to hide from the offender because they were frightened
  • fearing for the safety of another person or an animal that the offender was threatening.

Primary special victims

A special primary victim is a person who:

• was a child when the violence happened
• has impaired capacity
• was threatened or intimidated by the offender or someone else.

Victims of the following offences are also special primary victims:

• sexual offences
• offences committed by a person in a position of power, influence, or trust
• domestic violence that happened after 1 July 2017.

Related victims

A related victim is a person who is a close family member (by law, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander custom a financial dependant of a person killed by the act of violence.

Parent secondary victims

A parent secondary victim is a parent who was injured by learning about an act of violence that was committed against their child (who was under 18).

A parent can be:

• birth parent
• adopted parent
• step-parent
• approved carer (other than a temporary carer).

A parent may also be a person who:

• is the parent under Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander custom
• has a parenting order under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth)
• otherwise has the right and responsibility to make decisions about the child’s daily care.

A parent does not include:

• a person standing in the place of a parent of a child on a temporary basis, or a person granted a temporary order in relation to a child
• the chief executive (child protection).

Witness victims

A witness victim is a person who is a parent or person who was injured by seeing or hearing acts of violence being committed against someone else.

This may include people who:

• overheard threats of physical abuse
• overheard repeated derogatory taunts, including racial taunts
• saw or heard an assault.

Types of injuries

• Physical injury
• Psychological injury
• Aggravation of pre-existing conditions
• Adverse impacts

Physical injury

An injury to your physical body directly caused by violence.

Examples: bruises, wounds, muscle or bone injuries, damage to teeth, brain injuries, damage to senses, pregnancy (resulting from rape), or a disease you contracted from the offender during the violence.

Psychological injury

A psychological injury, illness, disorder, or impairment that was directly caused by violence.

Examples: emotional, psychological, or economic abuse, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, acute stress disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorders.

Limitations: Substance abuse resulting from violence is not usually considered.

Aggravation of pre-existing conditions

A medical condition, psychological illness, or disability that was made worse by the violence.

The health practitioner that usually treats your pre-existing condition will need to complete a comprehensive clinical report. This report will tell us how your condition has changed and what (if any) additional treatment or medical support you need.

Adverse impacts

Only consider adverse impacts (as your injury) if you have been a victim of a sexual offence that occurred after 19 December 1997 or a victim of domestic violence that occurred after 1 July 2017.

Examples: a sense of violation, reduced self-worth or perception, lost or reduced physical immunity, lost or reduced physical capacity (including the capacity to have children), increased fear or insecurity, adverse reactions from others, a negative impact on sexual relationships or a negative impact on feelings.