Victims Rights
Victims of crime in New South Wales have a Charter of Victims Rights (the Charter) to protect and promote their rights. The NSW Government has recently amended the Charter, strengthening the way rights are expressed. An additional right has been added to the Charter The right to be informed about making a complaint if you think that the Charter has been breached.
Before, the Charter applied only to government agencies. Now it has been made to apply to a wider range of service providers, such as non-government agencies and contractors funded by the State.
To support these changes a code of practice or guidelines will be developed to guide the implementation of the Charter.
In coming weeks and months, there will be more information on this website about these changes.
The Charter of Victims Rights outlines 18 rights for victims of crime in NSW including their rights to:
Be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect;
Information about, and access to, welfare, health, counselling and legal services, where available;
Information about the investigation and prosecution of the offender; and
Protection from the offender and protection of privacy.
Depending on the victims situation and whether the crime involved violence or threat of violence, the victim may also have the right to:
Make a Victim Impact Statement;
Be listed on a Victims Register;
Make a submission to the Parole Authority or Corrective Services; and
Apply for counselling and/or claim compensation.