Victorian victims of crime face long delays getting help from state

Key points

• Victoria's victims of crime commissioner, Elizabeth Langdon, has warned that slow processing of financial support is hurting victims' recovery. Some victims report waiting more than a year for help while paying for counselling and medical bills themselves.
• Under the Financial Assistance Scheme, primary victims can receive up to $63,401 for counselling, lost income, medical and other costs. A legal service says it has stopped taking new clients because of a backlog.
• The state government says it is looking at ways to improve the scheme, and 77 per cent of applications lodged in 2024-25 were finalised.