Victim Impact Statements in the Northern Territory: A Complete Guide

If you are going through the court process in the Northern Territory, 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 reads it before deciding the sentence.

This guide covers everything you need to know about writing and submitting one in the Northern Territory. It also explains how your statement connects to financial assistance, 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 NT

A victim impact statement tells the court how a crime has affected your life. In the Northern Territory it sits under the Sentencing Act 1995. It is a written statement, signed by you, that the prosecutor presents to the judge before the offender is sentenced. The court can take it into account when deciding the sentence, and it is your chance to tell the judge, in your own words, how you have been affected.

Making one is voluntary. If you decide not to, the court will not take that to mean the crime caused you little or no harm.

Who can make one in the Northern Territory

If you are the victim of the crime, you can make a statement. Where someone has died as a result of the crime, a close family member can tell the court about the impact as well.

If you are not sure whether a statement is right for your situation, the Witness Assistance Service at the Director of Public Prosecutions, or Victims of Crime NT, can talk it through with you.

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. You can write about any physical or mental harm, and any other loss or damage you have suffered because of the crime. Everything you include should be truthful, accurate, and related to the crime the person was found guilty of.

There are some things to leave out. Do not describe the details of the offence itself. Do not give your opinion on the offender's character, and do not say what sentence they should receive. Avoid offensive or threatening language. 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 NT

Write it in your own words. Someone can help you if you want. When it is finished, sign and date it, and keep a copy for yourself.

In the Northern Territory, you can hand or post your signed statement to the Witness Assistance Service in your local area, or hand it in at your local police station. It needs to be in before the sentencing hearing, so it is worth asking early how much time you have, because in some matters sentencing can happen quickly. The Witness Assistance Service and Victims of Crime NT can both help you prepare it.

Reading it aloud

You may be able to read your statement to the court yourself, or have the prosecutor present it for you. Talk to the prosecutor or your Witness Assistance Service officer about what you would prefer and what can be arranged. If you are a vulnerable witness, or the matter involves a sexual offence, there are protections the court can put in place, and you can have a support person with you. Raising this early gives everyone time to organise it.

How your statement connects to financial help

In the Northern Territory, 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 a government scheme. The two are separate, but they connect, and it is worth understanding both.

Financial assistance through the Crime Victims Services Unit

The Northern Territory runs a financial assistance scheme under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2006, administered by the Crime Victims Services Unit. It helps people who have been affected by a violent act in the Territory with the cost of injury, financial loss, and recovery. It covers violent crime, including domestic violence and sexual assault. It does not cover property crimes such as theft or damage, or crimes that happened outside the Northern Territory.

A few things are worth knowing.

• There are different categories of victim, each with its own limit. A primary victim, meaning the person directly harmed, can claim up to $40,000, which includes up to $10,000 for financial loss. A secondary victim can also claim up to $40,000, including up to $10,000 for financial loss, shared if there is more than one. A family victim, meaning someone financially dependent on or closely related to a person who died, can claim up to $10,000 for out-of-pocket costs. Funeral expenses can also be claimed where a person has died.
• If you are in financial hardship, you can apply for an interim payment of up to $5,000 while your claim is worked through.
• The scheme also runs a counselling service, which is available to victims, including close family members of a primary victim.
• You do not need a conviction to apply. The scheme is separate from the outcome of the criminal case, so you can apply whether or not anyone is found guilty.
• The Northern Territory is unusual in that the current Act does not set a strict deadline for applying, unlike most other states. Even so, it is best to apply as soon as you reasonably can, ideally once you have recovered enough to estimate what you need. If a lot of time has already passed, it is still worth asking, because your claim can be considered.
• Applying is free, and you do not need a lawyer. The forms are on the Northern Territory Government website, and are also available from courthouses, counsellors, and legal services. You lodge your claim with the Crime Victims Services Unit in Darwin, or at your local courthouse in regional centres. The Unit can help you fill it in.
• You will need to support your claim with things like Police reports, medical records, and, for financial losses, receipts and pay slips. The Unit can help gather records with your permission.

Compensation ordered by the court

Separately, when it sentences an offender, a Northern Territory court can order them to compensate you for injury, to return your property, or to pay for property that was damaged, lost or destroyed because of the crime. The order can say who is paid, how, and by when. If you want this considered, tell the prosecutor before the sentencing hearing, and have receipts or quotes ready, because the court needs the detail of your loss.

Two honest things to know about this path. In practice, judges rarely order offender-paid compensation for injury in the Territory, because injury is normally covered by the financial assistance scheme above. So this path matters most for property, which the scheme does not cover. And while any order depends on what the offender can pay, the Territory does back the orders it makes. If the offender does not pay, the Fines Recovery Unit can take enforcement action to collect the debt, including seizing property.

Applying to the scheme does not take away your right to bring a civil claim for damages against the offender either, which the Act specifically preserves. A lawyer can advise whether that is worth it in your case.

Do you need your statement for a compensation claim?

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

For the financial assistance scheme, you do not need a victim impact statement, and the application does not ask for one. The Crime Victims Services Unit decides your claim on its own form and the evidence behind it, such as the Police report, medical records and receipts. You can apply whether or not you ever make a statement to the court, and whether or not anyone is convicted.

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

How the two fit 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. Police reports, medical records, and receipts all support both. So does the help available. Both Victims of Crime NT and the Witness Assistance Service can assist with your statement and with your financial assistance application. The work you do for one carries over to the other.

Support services in the Northern Territory

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

• Victims of Crime NT is a community organisation offering crisis support, information, advocacy, court support, and referrals, with a 24-hour phone line. It can provide a support person for court and help you prepare both your victim impact statement and your financial assistance application. Call 1800 672 242.
• The Crime Victims Services Unit administers the Territory's financial assistance and counselling schemes, can help with your claim, and can assist you to join the victim register, which keeps you informed about the offender. Find the forms and details at nt.gov.au, under apply for victim financial help.
• The Witness Assistance Service, within the Director of Public Prosecutions, supports victims and witnesses who need to attend court, and helps with preparing victim impact statements. Visit dpp.nt.gov.au.
• Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) provide crisis care, medical help and counselling for people affected by sexual assault. Darwin and Alice Springs operate 24 hours, on 08 8922 6472 and 08 8955 4500, and there are centres in Katherine and Tennant Creek.
• The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) provides legal help for Aboriginal Territorians. Free call Darwin on 1800 898 251, Katherine on 1800 897 728, and Alice Springs on 1800 636 079.
• 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

Is there a time limit to apply for financial assistance in the NT?

The current Act sets no strict deadline, which is unusual in Australia. Even so, apply as soon as you reasonably can, because fresh evidence makes a claim easier.

Do I need a conviction to get financial assistance?

No. The scheme is separate from the outcome of the criminal case, so you can apply whether or not anyone is found guilty.

Do I need a lawyer to apply?

No. Applying is free, and the Crime Victims Services Unit can help you fill in the form and gather your records.

Do I have to read my statement aloud in court?

No. The prosecutor can present it for you. If you would like to read it yourself, ask the prosecutor or the Witness Assistance Service early so it can be arranged.

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

No. The claim is a separate application to the Crime Victims Services Unit. A statement does help if you want the court to order the offender to pay compensation, because both happen at sentencing.

How Justice Draft helps in the Northern Territory

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 hand it to the Witness Assistance Service or your local Police station. 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 Northern Territory gives you a real place to say so, both to the court and, separately, towards getting some support to recover.