About

Championing the rights and needs of victims of crime

In Queensland, the Victims’ Commissioner is independent to government, and supported by a statutory office to:

publish information about the criminal justice system in Queensland
respond to and action individual victim’s complaints about their treatment by government and government-funded agencies
conduct systemic reviews about matters affecting victims of crime
consult with victims of crime on matters relating to them
provide advice to government and non-government entities about things that can be done better to meet victims’ needs
monitor the implementation of recommendations made by the Victims’ Commissioner
provide secretariat support to the Sexual Violence Review Board.

The Victims’ Commissioner will chair the Sexual Violence Review Board once it is established in 2025.

The Sexual Violence Review Board will be responsible for reviewing systemic issues relating to the:

reporting of sexual offences
investigation of sexual offences
prosecution of sexual offences.

The Victims’ Commissioner

Beck O’Connor is Queensland’s first Victims’ Commissioner. Beck started her 5-year term on Monday, 29 July 2024.

Find out more about Beck.

Background

The Office of the Interim Victims’ Commissioner was created in September 2023 to support the establishment of a permanent Victims’ Commissioner in Queensland and to promote the rights and needs of victims of crime.

Interim Victims’ Commissioner Jon Rouse APM engaged with victims of crime, their families and friends, victim support services and criminal justice agencies to hear about victims’ experiences in the criminal justice system and to:

raise awareness of the rights of victims of crimes
identify, develop and provide additional accessible resources for victims of crime to understand their rights and how to access support, including translating the Charter of Victims’ Rights into ‘easy language’
identify the training needs of government agencies to interact with victims in a trauma informed manner.