Victim Impact Statements in the ACT: A Complete Guide

If you are going through the court process in the ACT, a victim impact statement is your chance to be heard. It is your account, in your own words, of how a crime has affected you. The judge or magistrate reads it before deciding the sentence.

This guide covers everything you need to know about writing and submitting one in the ACT. It also explains how your statement connects to financial assistance and compensation, and where to find support along the way. It is written for the person actually going through this, not for lawyers.

What a victim impact statement is in the ACT

A victim impact statement tells the court how a crime has affected your life. In the ACT it sits under the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005. You make it after a person has pleaded guilty or been found guilty, and before they are sentenced. The court uses it to understand the real, human impact of what happened. It can also be made where the court finds the act proven but the person not criminally responsible because of mental illness.

Making one is your choice. If you decide not to, the law says the court must not read anything into that. It cannot assume the crime caused you little or no harm.

Who can make one in the ACT

The ACT allows a wide group of people to make a statement. Under the legislation, a victim impact statement can be made by the victim, a person who has parental responsibility for the victim, a close family member, a carer, or a person in an intimate personal relationship with the victim. More than one person can make a statement in the same case, so a family can each speak to how they were affected.

If someone makes a statement on the victim's behalf, the victim signs to confirm they do not object. If you are not sure whether a statement is right for you, the Witness Assistance Service at the Director of Public Prosecutions, or Victim Support ACT, can talk it through.

What to put in, and what to leave out

Your statement is about impact, not evidence. The court already has the facts of the crime, so you do not need to describe what happened. Your job is to describe the effect it had on you, physically, emotionally and financially. In the ACT a statement can also include images, such as photographs, and you can attach things like medical reports.

There are some limits. A statement must not contain anything offensive, threatening or intimidating. You should not give your opinion on what sentence the offender should receive. If you include things that are not directly relevant to the offence, the court will usually not make an issue of it, so as not to add to your distress, but it will not take those parts into account. For a fuller walkthrough of what to include and how to structure it, see our guide on how to write a victim impact statement.

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How to write and submit it in the ACT

The Director of Public Prosecutions publishes a victim impact statement guide and a template to help you, and a short form on which you note whether you want it read aloud or handed up to the judge. Your statement can be spoken or written. It does not have to be typed, but it does need to be able to be read by others. When it is ready, sign it, and keep a copy.

You give your statement to the Director of Public Prosecutions, usually through the prosecutor or the Witness Assistance Service, before the sentencing hearing. It is worth sorting this out early. The defence and the offender are entitled to read your statement before sentencing, and once it is handed to the court it becomes part of the court record, which means the media may report on it. The rules that protect the identity of children and victims of sexual offences still apply. A witness assistance officer, or Victim Support ACT, can help you prepare it.

Reading it aloud

If you want to read your statement to the court yourself, you have the right to do so. You can also have someone read it for you, or simply have it handed up to the judge. You can have one or more support people near you while it is read. If being in the courtroom would be too much, you can ask the Director of Public Prosecutions whether you can read it by audio-visual link. If your statement is read in open court, others who are present, including any media, will hear it. Talk to the prosecutor or your witness assistance officer about what will be most manageable for you.

How your statement connects to money you may be owed

In the ACT, getting financial help after a violent crime is a separate process from your victim impact statement. Your statement goes to the court at sentencing. Financial assistance is a claim you make to Victim Support ACT. The two are separate, but they connect, and it is worth understanding both.

Financial assistance through Victim Support ACT

The ACT runs a financial assistance scheme under the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 2016. Applications are made to Victim Support ACT and decided by the Victims of Crime Commissioner. It is for people injured, physically or psychologically, by an act of violence in the ACT. It does not cover property damage, unless the item was something you were wearing or had on you at the time.

There are a few different kinds of payment.

• Economic loss payments reimburse costs caused by the injury, such as medical and dental treatment, counselling, and lost earnings. Loss of earnings is capped, currently at $30,000.
• Safety related, or immediate needs, payments help with urgent costs like emergency medical treatment, relocation, or safety upgrades, currently up to $10,000.
• Recognition payments acknowledge the harm and trauma of a violent crime. The amount depends on the type of crime and is set out in the scheme's regulation. As an example, a victim of child sexual assault may receive a recognition payment of around $19,659. These payments are for primary victims and for family members or dependants of homicide victims.
• Funeral expenses of up to $8,000 are available where someone has died as a result of a homicide.

Some things are worth knowing.

• You will usually need to have reported the act of violence to police. There is an important exception for family violence and sexual assault. If you have not reported to police, you may still be able to claim safety related and economic loss payments if you have told at least two of three other kinds of people or agencies, such as Victim Support ACT, a doctor or counsellor, or a service like the Domestic Violence Crisis Service or Canberra Rape Crisis Centre. A recognition payment, though, still requires a police report.
• You should apply within three years of the crime. If the crime happened when you were a child, you have three years from the day you turn 18. Funeral expenses must be claimed within three years of the death. Extensions are given on request, so ask if you are outside these times.
• If you later receive money from another source for the same expense, such as insurance or another payment, your assistance is reduced or must be repaid, so it is important to let Victim Support ACT know.
• If the offender is found guilty, the Victims of Crime Commissioner is required to try to recover the assistance paid from the offender. Before that happens, the team will check with you first about any concerns you have, including your safety.
• Applying is free, and you do not need a lawyer. Victim Support ACT can help you complete the application, and you support it with things like medical reports and receipts.

Compensation ordered by the court

Separately, an ACT court can order a convicted offender to pay reparation to a victim who has suffered a loss or an out of pocket expense as a direct result of the crime. The prosecution can apply for this before the offender is sentenced, so if you think it might apply to you, tell the prosecutor early, and keep your receipts and reports, because the court needs an evidential basis for the amount.

Two honest things to know about this path. A reparation order works like a debt the offender owes you, and the court can let them pay by instalments, so if they have little or nothing, collecting can be slow or incomplete. And it is not your only path. The law specifically preserves your right to bring a civil claim against the offender as well, which a lawyer can advise you about.

Do you need your statement for a compensation claim?

This is a common question, and the honest answer in the ACT is no for one path, and it helps with the other.

For financial assistance through Victim Support ACT, you do not need a victim impact statement, and the application does not ask for one. The scheme decides your claim on its own application form and the evidence behind it, such as the police report, medical reports and receipts. You can apply whether or not you ever make a statement to the court, you do not have to wait for the court case to finish, and assistance does not depend on anyone being convicted.

For reparation ordered against the offender, a statement is not required, but it helps. Reparation is decided by the same court that receives your statement, and the court needs evidence of what the crime cost you. Your statement, alongside your receipts and reports, puts exactly that in front of the judge. So if you want reparation considered, say so to the prosecutor before sentencing, and let your statement do double duty.

How it fits together

Your victim impact statement and a financial assistance claim are separate, but they rest on the same thing: a clear, honest account of how the crime harmed you. The evidence overlaps too, since medical reports and receipts support both. And the same service, Victim Support ACT, can help you with your statement and with your application. It is also worth knowing that Victim Support ACT's counselling and case management are free and separate again, and you can access them at any time, whether or not you have reported to police or applied for financial assistance.

Support services in the ACT

You do not have to face any of this alone. These are some of the main services in the ACT, what they do, and how to reach them.

• Victim Support ACT provides free counselling, help with the financial assistance scheme, a court companion program, and information about the police, courts and justice system. It is led by the Victims of Crime Commissioner. Call 1800 822 272 or 02 6205 2222, or email VictimSupport@act.gov.au.
• The Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) offers 24-hour crisis support for people affected by domestic and family violence, including phone support, safety planning, emergency accommodation and attending incidents with police. Call 02 6280 0900.
• The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre provides confidential counselling and support to anyone affected by sexual violence, with a crisis line from 7am to 11pm every day and a 24-hour crisis callout service. Call 02 6247 2525.
• The Sexual Violence Legal Service gives independent legal advice and representation to people subjected to sexual violence, including help engaging with police and the prosecution, and at and after trial. Call the Advice and Intake Line on 02 6257 4377, weekdays.
• National lines: 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for sexual assault and family violence, Lifeline on 13 11 14 for crisis support, and 13YARN on 13 92 76 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander callers.

Quick answers

Who can make a victim impact statement in the ACT?

The victim, a person with parental responsibility for them, a close family member, a carer, or an intimate partner. More than one person can make a statement in the same case.

Can I attach photos or reports to my statement?

Yes. An ACT statement can include images such as photographs, and you can attach material like medical reports.

Do I have to read my statement aloud in court?

No. You have the right to read it yourself if you want to, but you can also have someone read it for you, or have it handed to the judge without being read. You can ask the Director of Public Prosecutions about reading it by audio-visual link.

Does the offender see my statement?

Yes. The defence and the offender are entitled to read it before sentencing, and it becomes part of the court record.

Do I need a victim impact statement to claim financial assistance?

No. The Victim Support ACT scheme is a separate application and does not ask for one. A statement does help if you want the court to order the offender to pay reparation.

How Justice Draft helps in the ACT

The hardest part of a victim impact statement is usually the blank page. Justice Draft was built for exactly that. Our free guided questions take you through it one step at a time, in plain language, and turn your answers into a finished statement. You can then put it onto the ACT form and give it to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Because a financial assistance claim rests on the same account of how you were harmed, the work you do here carries over to that as well.

A final word

There is no perfect victim impact statement. You are aiming for honest, in your own words. What happened to you mattered, and the ACT gives you a real place to say so, both to the court and, separately, towards getting some support to recover.