--- title: "Victims of Crime Support & Compensation" url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/victims-of-crime-support-and-compensation" type: "practice_area" site: "AI Law Framework" id: "A62" task_count: 9 last_reviewed: "2026-10-18" --- # Victims of Crime Support & Compensation > Helping victims of crime and survivors of institutional abuse claim statutory support, financial assistance, recognition payments and redress. Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/victims-of-crime-support-and-compensation Last reviewed: 2026-10-18 Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt Helping victims of crime and survivors of institutional abuse claim statutory support, financial assistance, recognition payments and redress. ## Key facts - Tasks: 9 - Green: 3, Yellow: 3, Red: 3 - Levels: Green is AI drafts and the lawyer checks; Yellow is lawyer and AI draft together; Red is the lawyer writes and AI may only check, clarify or collect data. ## Basis Planning guidance checked on 18 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance. ## How this work usually runs A victims' claim usually starts when a client, often referred by police, a counsellor, a family violence service or a sexual assault service, asks what help is available. The lawyer first identifies the scheme: the State or Territory where the violence happened, or the National Redress Scheme for child sexual abuse in an institution. Then the category of victim (primary, secondary or related in the Victorian scheme, or a special primary victim in Queensland), the type of violence, the date and the client's age at the time, which together fix the time limit. The lawyer checks the reporting requirements, gathers identification, police reports or event numbers, medical and counselling records and receipts for expenses and lost income, and confirms the client's safety and consent before any record is requested. The application is lodged with the scheme, in Victoria through the Financial Assistance Scheme portal and in New South Wales through Victims Services, for counselling, financial assistance for expenses and loss, and a recognition payment in the category that fits the violence. The scheme's decision-maker, in Western Australia a legally qualified Assessor acting informally, may ask for further information before deciding. The lawyer reviews the decision against the scheme's categories and limits and seeks review where it is wrong. Redress claims follow a parallel path: the survivor applies, the scheme seeks information from the institution, and an offer is made that the survivor may accept only once 18 or over. Throughout, the client's account of what happened is taken carefully, in their own words, and only as often as the scheme actually requires. ## Why victims' claims are their own area Every State and Territory runs its own statutory scheme, such as the NSW Victims Support Scheme, the Victorian Financial Assistance Scheme that replaced VOCAT on 18 November 2024, Queensland's scheme under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009 and Western Australia's criminal injuries compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003, alongside the National Redress Scheme. Legal aid, community legal centres and specialist firms run these claims every day. They are administrative claims, not litigation, and the AI questions are acute: the files hold accounts of violence and sexual abuse, often concerning children, and police, medical and counselling records. ## Time limits depend on the crime and the victim's age In New South Wales an adult must apply for financial assistance or a recognition payment within 10 years for domestic violence or sexual assault and within 2 years for other violence, a child victim of sexual assault may apply at any time, and counselling has no time limit. In Queensland an application is generally due within 3 years of the act of violence. Compute every limit from the scheme's own rules for the type of violence and the victim's age at the time, never from a general figure. ## Check the reporting and evidence requirements first Queensland requires the violence to be reported to police before an application, except for special primary victims, though for acts after 1 December 2009 no conviction is needed. Schemes ask for identification, police and medical evidence and proof of expenses. Find out what the scheme requires before the client is asked to retell anything. ## The survivor's account is theirs and stays out of tools A victim's description of what happened and its impact on them is their own evidence. It is taken by the lawyer in a trauma-informed way, in the client's words, and it is never drafted, smoothed or completed by a tool. Counselling notes and sexual assault communications may carry their own protections; check before any of them is copied, uploaded or attached. ## Redress offers need advice before acceptance The National Redress Scheme acknowledges institutional child sexual abuse. People under 18 can apply if they turn 18 by 30 June 2028 but can only accept an offer at 18 or over, and applicants with a serious criminal conviction go through a special assessment. Free help is available through Redress Support Services and knowmore. Advise on what accepting an offer means for any other claim against the institution before the survivor decides. ## Tasks (9) | Task | Level | How AI is used | What the lawyer must review | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Build the victims' claim eligibility and deadline register | Green | From the client's documents and the lawyer's intake notes, record the scheme, the type of violence, the date, the client's age at the time, the police report… | The lawyer decides the scheme, the victim category and the time limit under the scheme's rules, checks each date against a document, and diarises the deadline. | | Index the police, medical and counselling records for a victims' application | Green | Index the records the lawyer has obtained with the client's consent (police event reports, hospital and GP records, counselling letters) by date, author, type… | The lawyer checks the index, decides which records the scheme needs and which should not be disclosed, and checks any protection over counselling or sexual… | | Build the expenses and income loss schedule for a financial assistance claim | Green | From the receipts, invoices, payslips and employer letters the lawyer supplies, list each expense or loss with its date, amount, payee and the document… | The lawyer decides which items the scheme covers, checks the totals, and confirms each item is linked to the violence. | | Prepare the application to a state victims support scheme | Yellow | Working with the lawyer from the register, the record index and the expenses schedule, complete the scheme's application fields for the client's details, the… | The lawyer confirms the scheme and category, checks every field against the documents, inserts the client's own account as the client gives it, and confirms… | | Take the victim's own account of the violence and its impact | Red | The tool writes nothing in the account or any statutory declaration. It may list the questions the scheme's form asks and the records the client refers to, in… | The lawyer takes the account in the client's own words, in a trauma-informed way and only as far as the scheme requires, reads it back, and confirms it… | | Respond to a scheme's request for further information | Yellow | Working with the lawyer from the request and the file, draft the response item by item, attaching the documents requested and noting any item that cannot be… | The lawyer checks each answer against the documents, decides what the client should provide and what to object to, and confirms the client approves the… | | Check a victims' scheme decision against the categories and limits | Yellow | Working with the lawyer from the decision and the application, set out what was sought, what was granted or refused, the category applied and the reasons… | The lawyer decides whether the category, amount and any refusal are correct under the scheme, and whether to seek review. | | Prepare a National Redress Scheme application with the survivor | Red | The tool writes nothing about the abuse or its impact. It may list the application's questions, check eligibility facts the survivor has given (age,… | The lawyer confirms eligibility, takes the survivor's account in their own words, refers to Redress Support Services or knowmore where appropriate, and… | | Advise a survivor on a National Redress Scheme offer | Red | From the offer letter, extract the components of the offer, any deadline and the institution named into a table. The tool does not write the advice. | The lawyer advises on the offer, what accepting it means for any civil claim against the institution, the alternatives, the survivor's age and capacity to… | ## Jurisdiction notes ### New Zealand Local name: Victims' rights and ACC cover for injury from crime #### No state compensation scheme New Zealand has no victims of crime financial assistance scheme like the Australian state schemes. Personal injury from crime is generally covered by ACC. #### Bar on suing The Accident Compensation Act 2001 restricts proceedings for damages for personal injury covered by the Act (s 317). #### Victims' rights Victims' Rights Act 2002: information rights and victim impact statements in criminal proceedings. #### Reparation Reparation is ordered at sentencing under the Sentencing Act 2002. #### AI guidance Courts of New Zealand guidelines for lawyers and the NZLS generative AI guidance apply. The lawyer remains responsible for every document filed. - Do not apply for an Australian victims support or financial assistance scheme payment for a New Zealand crime. - The victim's account and impact statement stay in the victim's words. - Do not enter private, confidential, suppressed or privileged material into a public chatbot. Sources: - [Victims' Rights Act 2002](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/39/en/latest/) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Accident Compensation Act 2001](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2001/49/en/latest/) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Victims Information (Ministry of Justice)](https://www.victimsinfo.govt.nz/) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Sentencing Act 2002](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/9/en/latest/) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Courts of New Zealand: Guidelines for use of generative AI in courts and tribunals (lawyers guideline 7 December 2023)](https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/going-to-court/practice-directions/practice-guidelines/all-benches/guidelines-for-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-in-courts-and-tribunals) (checked 2026-10-18) - [NZLS: Generative AI guidance for lawyers](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/professional-practice/rules-and-maintaining-professional-standards/generative-ai-guidance-for-lawyers/) (checked 2026-10-18) ### United Kingdom (England and Wales) Local name: Criminal injuries compensation and victims' rights (CICA, Victims' Code) #### Compensation scheme Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority: a victim of violent crime usually must claim within 2 years of the crime, the crime must be reported to the police first, applying is free, and injury payments range from £1,000 to £250,000. #### Victims' rights The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the Victims' Code) sets the minimum standard organisations must provide to victims; the Ministry of Justice page was last updated on 29 January 2025. #### AI guidance The judiciary's AI guidance (October 2025) applies to judges and tribunal members; solicitors follow the SRA's warning notice on misuse of AI (17 August 2026), which names false citations and client confidentiality as its two concerns, and the Law Society's generative AI guidance. - Do not apply Australian state victims support schemes, their categories of payment or their time limits. - Do not file a generated citation, quotation or statutory reference until you have opened it on legislation.gov.uk or a trusted case database; the Divisional Court dealt with false citations in court documents in Ayinde v Haringey (6 June 2025). - Do not put client confidential or personal information into a public AI tool; the SRA warning notice on misuse of AI treats confidentiality as a core risk. Sources: - [GOV.UK: Claim compensation if you were the victim of a violent crime](https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-criminal-injury) (checked 2026-10-18) - [GOV.UK: The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-code-of-practice-for-victims-of-crime) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Judicial Guidance (October 2025)](https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/artificial-intelligence-ai-judicial-guidance-october-2025/) (checked 2026-10-18) - [SRA warning notice: Misuse of AI (17 August 2026)](https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/misuse-ai/) (checked 2026-10-18) ### United States Local name: Crime victim compensation and victims' rights #### State compensation programs Each state runs a crime victim compensation program. Federal Victims of Crime Act grants fund eligible state programs (34 U.S.C. § 20102). #### Federal victims' rights The Crime Victims' Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) gives rights to victims in federal criminal cases. #### Where to look The Office for Victims of Crime has a state support map showing its work with each state and territory. Find the state program from there. #### AI guidance ABA Formal Opinion 512 and state bar guidance (for example California's practical guidance) apply, together with any court standing order on AI. - Do not apply an Australian state scheme's categories, caps or time limits. - The victim's account stays in the victim's words. - Do not upload client, medical or case records to a public generative tool. Sources: - [34 U.S.C. § 20102 (crime victim compensation grants)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/34/20102) (checked 2026-10-18) - [18 U.S.C. § 3771 (crime victims' rights)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3771) (checked 2026-10-18) - [Office for Victims of Crime: support to states](https://ovc.ojp.gov/states) (checked 2026-10-18) - [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-18) *Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*