Who pays for financial assistance awarded to victims

The Queensland Government funds most payments awarded to victims of violence committed in Queensland.

Offender debt recovery scheme

In some cases, Queensland law allows the government to recover a portion of the victim’s payment from the offender.

This means we can ask the offender to pay the state back for part of the assistance granted to the victim if the offender is convicted of committing the violence against the victim.

The rules about what can be recovered are set out in the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009.

Safety issues

We acknowledge that some victims may have safety concerns about the government recovering money from the offender. Your ongoing safety is our priority and there are steps we can take to protect you.

If this is a concern for you and you want to know more about our safety measures, email VictimAssist@justice.qld.gov.au and include:

• your application reference number
• information about your safety concerns, such as
  • the offender knows where I live and I am afraid they will cause me further harm if this process occurs
  • the offender has committed domestic violence in the past and I am afraid they will cause further harm to me or others if this process occurs.