Victims of Crime Fund

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (15:11): My questions are to the Attorney-General regarding the victims of crime levy:

1. How many payments have been made from the Victims of Crime Fund in the past 12 months and what is the total amount of payments that have been made out of the fund?

2. How does this compare to the previous five years?

3. How do victims of crime gain access to this fund?

4. How does the Attorney ensure that this is done on a timely basis?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for her questions. As I have mentioned previously in this chamber in relation to questions on victims of crime, between 2022 and 2023 more money was paid out of the fund than was paid into the fund. In that period I am advised that there was $61.5 million paid out for the benefit of victims, while the fund received $60.74 million, so in that period there was more paid out of the fund than was received by the fund.

While there has been a decrease, I am informed, in the number of applications through the fund, from 1,725 in 2021-22 to 1,551 in 2022-23, the number of applications approved increased from 912 in 2021-22 to 1,091 in 2022-23. While there were less applications being made on the fund, the number that were approved and paid out increased over that period.

Another question the honourable member asked was: how does one access the fund? Typically, victims of crime make an application, and often it's through a solicitor. There is a set fee that can be paid to a lawyer who assists someone in making an application. The application is made to the government, and I know that there are sections within the Attorney-General's Department that assess these. It's an area of practice in government that has been around for quite some time, and it's assessed against criteria. Assessments are made and then paid out depending on whether the victim of crime meets those criteria.