By -

In August, the NSW Government announced the establishment of an independent Victims of Crime Commissioner. The Commissioner's role is to advocate for victims, ensure compliance with the Charter of Victims Rights, and to investigate systemic issues preventing fairness to victim-survivors. The Bill passed the Legislative Council and then the Legislative Assembly this month. Once in effect, the Governor will appoint a Commissioner for a term of 5 years.

The goal of these reforms, introduced via the Victim Rights and Victims of Crime Commissioner Bill 2025, is to ensure greater accountability of government agencies and organisations responsible for victim services, and to instil trust from victims and the public in the independence and dependability of the Commissioner. Clauses 15 to 21 of the Bill relate to the appointment of the Commissioner: the role is to be appointed by the Governor, the capacity for the Governor “to remove the Commissioner from office for incompetence, incapacity or misbehaviour”, and the resources for the Commissioner to employ staff and delegate functions.

The new statutory office of an independent Victims of Crime Commissioner operates independently to both the Minister’s directions and to the bodies responsible for services to victims. Victoria and Queensland have already established the independent model, and the NSW Government promised to establish an independent body during the election campaign. This newly created role replaces, rather than duplicates, the existing structure. In NSW, there is currently a Commissioner of Victims’ Rights employed under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (NSW), as established by the Victims Rights and Support Act 2013 (NSW). Their role is to administer the Victims Support Scheme (VSS), monitor compliance with the Charter of Victims Rights, and respond to complaints made under the charter.

The Independent Victims Commissioner will be tasked with appointing a Victims Advisory Committee comprising members of the general community with relevant knowledge and experience. This committee will replace the existing Victims Advisory Board.

It will also include an Aboriginal representative, representation from the NSW Police Force, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Legal Aid NSW and the Department of Communities and Justice.

The Victims Rights and Support Act 2013 is being amended to rename it the Victims Support Act 2013; establish a Scheme Executive; and to remove duplications of roles by dissolving the Victims Advisory Board. Further, the Victims Support Act provides for authorised payments for approved counselling services to “certain relatives of persons killed in road crimes”.

The Victims Support Regulation 2019 (NSW) is also being amended to enable the same provisions regarding the Scheme Executive authorising payments for counselling to family of persons killed in road crimes.

The proposal received passionate submissions about the independence and scope of the Commissioner, including from Women’s Legal Service NSW. Its Legal Researcher Sarah Croskery-Hewitt has welcomed the changes. “We have long advocated for NSW to have a commissioner for victims’ rights who is independent of political influence.”

“There is an inherent tension in a commissioner who is embedded within government providing an impartial voice for the interests of victim-survivors. We hope that an independent commissioner will hold systems accountable for their responses to victims and advocate for transformational reforms, as we have seen independent commissioners in other jurisdictions do.”

“It is essential that the new commissioner has substantial experience working with victim-survivors of crime. We specifically hope that they will have substantial experience working with victim-survivors of domestic, family, and sexual violence,” she says.

The Justice Support Centre has provided 28 years of legal assistance in South West Sydney (SWS) communities, delivering trauma-informed domestic and family violence specialist services. CEO Melanie Noden and Principal Solicitor Liz Simpson provided a submission in February. The JSC argued that the Bill is promising but could go further to tighten some of the intentions laid out in present clauses.

For example, they want to see legislation that includes “explicit provisions similar to those in Queensland’s Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board Act 2024”, which states:

“The Commissioner must act independently and in the public interest… The Commissioner must not be subject to direction by any person, including the Minister, about how their functions are performed.”

Simpson tells LSJ Online, “Although the draft Bill contained several safeguards to ensure the new victim rights commissioner’s independence, we were concerned that the Bill did not go far enough as it lacked an explicit, positive duty for the Commissioner to act independently and in the public interest, as seen in Queensland’s legislation. We recommended this be strengthened and were pleased to see that the amendment was adopted in the final version of the Bill passed in September by NSW Parliament.”

She explains that while the Victims Support Scheme is meant to be directly accessible by victim-survivors, the application process and evidentiary requirements make it difficult to navigate without legal or community support.

“We’ve seen decision-makers adopt a narrow interpretation of the legislation, which effectively excludes many domestic violence survivors from financial support due to delays in applying or difficulties providing documentation in support of their claims.”

Simpson says she’s seen people refused financial support packages because they’ve been unable to produce receipts for earlier financial support. “Our clients experiencing domestic and family violence are often forced to move multiple times or are living with the effects of trauma and filing receipts away neatly is not possible for some victims. We have noticed this disproportionately affects certain groups including older victims and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims.” JSC believes a trauma informed approach would see assessors able to exercise discretion where documentation is absent, particularly if there’s a reasonable explanation.

Simpson would also like to see lived experience of victim-survivors reflected among members of the new Victims Advisory Committee.

“There is no doubt that a victim-survivor’s experiences (including their engagement and interactions with service providers) is heavily shaped by their gender as well as their race, religion, national or social origin, migrant or refugee status,” she says. “As a result, JSC suggested that the Commissioner should be able to demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing issues affecting women and victim-survivors, particularly First Nations women and women experiencing persistent social, cultural and economic disadvantage. Lived experience and professional experience working with victim-survivors from diverse backgrounds would ensure the Commissioner is able to draw on their insights as well as social and cultural awareness to effectively identify systemic issues affecting victims of crime.”