Special assistance payments for primary victims
A primary victim of violence can apply for a special assistance payment through Victim Assist. This is a one-off lump sum recognition payment.
Who can claim
You can claim this payment if:
- you have been directly injured, by
- an act of violence, that
- was committed in Queensland.
An act of violence is a crime where a person hurts a person. It does not include accidents or self-harm.
You must report the violence to a relevant agency before you apply. See reporting requirements for more details.
Violence that happened before 2009
For violence that happened before 1 December 2009, a person is only eligible for financial assistance if:
- the offender was convicted or plead guilty in a District or Supreme Court
- the police state that the offender could not be located
or
- the offender went through the Mental Health Tribunal.
For more information, please contact Victim Assist.
People affected by domestic violence
A person that is the main victim of domestic violence can apply for financial assistance as a primary victim.
Children and other family members can also apply as a primary victim if they have been injured because the offender has committed domestic violence against them or another person they live with.
Domestic and family violence does not always involve physical violence. It can take many forms including coercive control and non-physical forms of abuse such as social, sexual, financial, psychological and technology-based abuse.
Learn more about domestic and family violence and how to get support .
Witnesses
A bystander who witnesses violence may apply as a witness. Witnesses can claim some recovery expenses, but they cannot claim a special assistance payment. This may include people who:
- see or hear an assault
- overhear domestic violence such as threats of physical abuse or repeated derogatory taunts (including racial taunts).
Learn more about claiming recovery expenses after witnessing violence.
Payment amount
The amount you get depends on the type of crime that was committed against you. In some cases, the seriousness of your injuries and your circumstances will be taken into consideration. We will need to assess your application to work out what amount you will get.
Special assistance payments range from $3,000 to $15,000.
How to claim
To claim special assistance, you need to:
- report the violence
- complete the financial assistance application form and attach
Claiming other recovery expenses
You can also ask us to pay for recovery expenses. A primary victim can claim:
- medical expenses
- counselling expenses
- travel to medical and counselling appointments
- damage to clothing
- legal expense claims for making an application
- loss of earnings
- other recovery expenses.
If you are claiming expenses, you will need to provide receipts, invoices or a treatment plan for each expense you are claiming.
Payment process
If your claim is approved, we will send you a ‘notice of decision’. This notice will list what we have agreed to pay for, who we will be paying and the conditions on the payment.
Once you receive your notice of decision and your claim is approved, electronic payments will be deposited into your nominated bank account within 10 business days.
Special assistance payments are one-off lump sums
In most cases, if you are an adult and your claim is approved, special assistance will be paid directly to you (by direct deposit or cheque).
However, if you are an adult with impaired capacity and have an appointed administrator or enduring power of attorney, and your claim is approved, the one-off lump sum payment will be paid to the administrator or enduring power of attorney.
If you are a child (under 18) and your claim is approved, lump sum payments will be paid directly to the Public Trustee of Queensland to be held in trust for you until you turn 18.
Timeframe
Due to the high number of claims already queued, it may be many months before we’re able to assess your application and pay approved expenses.
If you have a urgent expenses, and meet these conditions, we may prioritise assessing your urgent expenses. If we decide the expenses don’t meet these conditions, we’ll let you know. Non-urgent expenses will be queued for general assessment within normal timeframes.
Once you receive your notice of decision and your claim is approved, electronic payments will be deposited into your nominated bank account within 10 business days.