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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-26 Daily Xml
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Victims of Crime Fund

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Attorney-General regarding the Victims of Crime Fund.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: The Law Society of South Australia has publicly criticised the South Australian government's current payout rules for the Victims of Crime Fund, referring to it as 'arbitrary and unjustified'. When referencing the fact that victims receive only 75 per cent of their compensation for economic loss and medical expenses after the first $2,000 is paid in full—that is the reason for their comments—the President of the Law Society has publicly stated, and I quote:

The Law Society maintains that there is no compelling reason to impose a reduction that requires victims to bear a portion of the cost of medical treatment and loss of income.

There is presently approximately $227 million in the Victims of Crime Fund, I am informed, following an increase of some $17 million over the last financial year, approximately. My questions to the Attorney are:

1. Is the Attorney comfortable leaving victims of crime with out-of-pocket medical expenses and not being fully compensated for economic loss when there is a quite a large $227 million balance in the Victims of Crime Fund?

2. Will the Attorney review the current system of calculating Victims of Crime Fund payouts in order that victims are not out of pocket following an event or events from which they are victims and therefore it is not their fault?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his question. I know the Hon. Connie Bonaros has asked similar questions and I think has various mechanisms in this chamber to further progress and look at these issues. I know the Hon. Ben Hood, during the Auditor-General's Report questioning recently, touched on the Victims of Crime Fund, the balance and what could be done with the Victims of Crime Fund.

From the outset, it is important to say that the Victims of Crime Fund is not intended to be a compensation mechanism of first resort. It is, and always has been, intended as a fund of last resort. It is not, and has never been, intended to fully put someone in a position as if they were not a victim of crime, but it recognises—and it was a very early form of this sort of legislation, this sort of scheme around the world—the impact that crime does have on victims.

In relation to the balance, the honourable member is right. I do not have the current balance in front of me, but I gave an update as of a month ago, I think, to the Hon. Ben Hood during the estimates process, which will be on Hansard, for the current balance. I think the $251 million was of 30 June this year. I had a more recent update during the estimates process as to the balance.

We do not have an intention in the immediate future of changing the way distributions are made from the Victims of Crime Fund. One of the very big reasons for that is our obligation in relation to the National Redress Scheme for victims of institutional childhood abuse. There has been a very significant amount from the Victims of Crime Fund that has been put into that National Redress Scheme. The former Liberal government, during its term, committed $146 million from the Victims of Crime Fund towards the National Redress Scheme.

During the term of this government, we put in, I think, about $25 million more in 2022-23 and then, in the 2024-25 Mid-Year Budget Review, a further $135 million was committed from the Victims of Crime Fund to the National Redress Scheme. I am advised that the National Redress Scheme is accepting applications up until 30 June 2027. I think it would be reasonable to assume that there will be some activity, and there might even be an increase and a flurry of activity, in making applications as that scheme closes.

I am quite certain there will be more and more significant calls from the Victims of Crime Fund for the National Redress Scheme, and we do not want to be in a position in South Australia where we do not have the funds from the Victims of Crime Fund to put into the National Redress Scheme. It is very difficult to tell, as it winds up, exactly how many more applications will be made and exactly what the further call will be on those applications. Having already committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Redress Scheme, we want to make sure that the Victims of Crime Fund is in a position to be able to fund South Australia's calls under that scheme.

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