Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Vic) The issues and options paper also discussed the VLRC’s review of the VOCA Act and its relationship to the Council’s reference. The review considered the operation and effectiveness of state-funded assistance to victims in Victoria. The VLRC provided its advice to government by 27 July 2018. The VLRC’s review sought submissions on a number of matters, including: the mechanisms for the state to seek from an offender recovery of a payment of an award under the VOCA Act; the introduction of a victims’ levy to supplement state-funded victims’ compensation; and the potential for the victims’ financial assistance scheme to incorporate restorative justice opportunities. Changes to the scheme for assistance in Victoria including – increased recovery from offenders of payments under the VOCA Act and changes to the categories or amounts of assistance available under the VOCA Act may have implications for the use and enforcement of – restitution and compensation orders. The Council that the VOCA Act has been amended to remove the time limit of two years for applications in relation to child abuse. Reforms to assist victims of institutional abuse The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry that resulted in the 2013 Betrayal of Trust report outlined how survivors of institutional child abuse face significant barriers in recovering compensation for the abuse they suffered. In particular, the Betrayal of Trust report found that identifying the correct organisational entity against which to bring civil proceedings is a major obstacle to seeking civil compensation where child abuse
Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Vic) The issues and options paper also discussed the VLRC’s review of the VOCA Act and its relationship to the Council’s reference. The review considered the operation and effectiveness of state-funded assistance to victims in Victoria. The VLRC provided its advice to government by 27 July 2018. The VLRC’s review sought submissions on a number of matters, including: the mechanisms for the state to seek from an offender recovery of a payment of an award under the VOCA Act; the introduction of a victims’ levy to supplement state-funded victims’ compensation; and the potential for the victims’ financial assistance scheme to incorporate restorative justice opportunities. Changes to the scheme for assistance in Victoria – including increased recovery from offenders of payments under the VOCA Act and changes to the categories or amounts of assistance available under the VOCA Act – may have implications for the use and enforcement of restitution and compensation orders. The Council that the VOCA Act has been amended to remove the time limit of two years for applications in relation to child abuse. Reforms to assist victims of institutional abuse The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry that resulted in the 2013 Betrayal of Trust report outlined how survivors of institutional child abuse face significant barriers in recovering compensation for the abuse they suffered. In particular, the Betrayal of Trust report found that identifying the correct organisational entity against which to bring civil proceedings is a major obstacle to seeking civil compensation where child abuse
Restitution_and_Compensation_Orders_Report.docx