Victims of Crime Compensation

A person is eligible to claim Victims of Crime Compensation if they are the immediate victim of a crime which took place in South Australia, was reported to Police, and at least one of the following applies.

1. The crime involved either violence or threat of violence to the victim.
2. The crime created an imminent risk of harm to the victim (eg threat of violence).
3. The crime was a sexual crime.
4. The crime resulted in death or physical injury.

Where a sexual offence is committed against a child aged under 18 years the parents of the child are also entitled to seek compensation.

In cases involving homicide, immediate family members of the deceased are entitled to claim compensation.

You must first meet the criteria above. Once this has been established please make contact with our office via telephone, email or the online enquiry form under the ‘Contact us’ tab above. When contacting us in order to satisfy the identification requirements we will need one form of photo ID and one form of non-photo ID e.g. a bill or bank statement. It will also assist our office if you have access to your police report number.

The victims of crime compensation process includes establishing your eligibility (See question 1) and then, once your claim is accepted, outlining the impact that the offending has had on you (i.e. physical, psychological and financial).

Nearly all the information required to complete your claim we can obtain on your behalf. This information may include, but is not limited to, medical records, ATO records, Department of Education records and information from Police.

When a victim makes a report to Police, they are provided with a unique police report number. This number will be of assistance in commencing your claim along with some other simple details. If for whatever reason you are unable to locate this number, we can retrieve it on your behalf.

The amount of compensation awarded varies for each claim and is based on a number of factors including the nature and extent of the physical and psychological impact of the crime and the financial impact of the crime upon you.

The following table outlines the maximum payments available based on the time the offending occurred:

*Where offending occurs between 1970 and 1978 we will usually seek a special payment from the Attorney-General (called an ex gratia payment) in addition to the compensation payment referred to above.

The Crown Solicitor’s Office is a branch of the South Australian Government who oversee the Victims of Crime fund. Our firm will communicate on your behalf with the Crown Solicitor’s Office throughout the process.

Compensation payments are paid from the Victims of Crime Fund, a government fund. This fund is supported by the Victims of Crime Levy which is included in a number of different infringements.

The Crown Solicitor’s Office pays our legal fees. At no point do Fletchers Lawyers ask the victim to pay.


If your claim is unsuccessful our legal fees are not paid. In this case Fletchers Lawyers does not require you to pay any fees and the file will be closed.


On average a claim takes one and a half years from commencement to finalisation. However, it may be completed sooner or later than this. It all depends on how long it takes criminal proceedings to finalise and how long it takes to obtain relevant medical and financial loss evidence in support of your claim. Claims for compensation can only be advanced once criminal proceedings are completed. Generally, the offender needs to be found guilty for a claim to be accepted. However there are circumstances where claims can be accepted where the offender remains unknown.

According to the Victims of Crime Act 2001 a victim has three years from the date of the offence to commence a claim. However, if you are looking to commence a claim beyond this period please give our office a call as we will still may be able to assist.


Victims of a crime have the right to obtain some information surrounding the offending. To learn more about your rights visit the Commissioner for Victims Rights page.

At no point in time are you required to attend a court hearing throughout this process.


At no point in this process are you required to communicate with the offender.

No, you are not required to have a face to face meeting. We have a number of different ways of commencing claims. If you wish to commence a claim without coming into the office, you can complete the online enquiry form, give our office a call or complete an email questionnaire. If you still wish to commence a claim via a face to face meeting that can be arranged.