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Role of the Office of the Interim Victims’ Commissioner

The Office of the Interim Victims’ Commissioner has been established to promote the rights and needs of victims of crime.

The Interim Victims’ Commissioner will engage with victims of crime, families of victims, victim support services and criminal justice agencies to hear about victims’ experience in the criminal justice system. This will assist the Interim Victims’ Commissioner to:

• raise awareness of the rights of victims of crime and the services available
• identify, develop and provide additional accessible resources for victims of crime to understand their rights, the criminal justice process and how to access support and assistance
• identify the training needs for government agencies to interact with victims in a trauma informed manner.

The Office of the Interim Victims’ Commissioner will also support the establishment of a permanent Victims’ Commissioner in Queensland.

With no legislative powers in place the Interim Victims’ Commissioner will not have the capacity to assist and manage individual victim’s complaints about their treatment by government agencies.

Background

Three separate inquiries, the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Services responses to domestic and family violence and the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee - Inquiry into support provided to Victims of Crime identified a need for an independent Queensland Victims’ Commissioner that promotes and protects the needs and rights of victims’ of crime.