Know your rights

• You have the right to be treated with courtesy, compassion, respect, and dignity, taking your needs into account.
• You have the right to have your privacy protected.
• You have the right to be provided information about services and remedies which can support you.
• If any of your property is being kept for an investigation or used as evidence, it must be given it back to you as soon as possible.

You have the right to be told:

• the name of the person charged with an offence.
• if police charge the person.
• what crimes police charge the person with and why.
• if police decide not to charge the person and why.

Sometimes, telling you this information could jeopardise the investigation. If that happens, you have the right to know if there is some information you can’t be told.

You have the right to be told about each major decision the prosecutor makes about the person charged with a crime, along with the reasons why.

You have the right to be told:

• if the prosecution changes the charges against the person and why.
• if the person pleads guilty to lesser or different charges.

You have the right to be told:

• the date of court hearings.
• when you may attend court.
• if the person applies for bail and is granted bail (or not).
• if the person could attend a diversionary program
• about the outcome of the court proceeding.

If you are a witness at the accused’s trial, you have the right to:

• be given information about what will happen in court and what you will need to do.
• be protected from unnecessary contact with the person, their family and their friends.

You have the right to:

• make a victim impact statement.
• know what sentence the person is given.
• be told the result of an appeal if the person appeals against their sentence.

Victims Registers

Victims registers are an ‘opt-in’ contact list that provides you, as a victim of crime, with important information about the offender's sentence including release dates and other relevant updates.

These registers help you stay informed about the progress of the offender's sentence and helps you to make decisions about your safety and well-being.

In Queensland, there are 2 types of victims registers:

• If the person who hurt you is an adult and they are found guilty and sentenced to jail, you may be able to apply to be on the Queensland Corrective Services Victims Register. For more information about the Adult Victims Register, you can call 1800 098 098 (freecall).
• If the person who harmed you is a young person and they are found guilty and sentenced to detention, you may be able to apply to be on the Youth Justice victims register. For more information about the Youth Justice victims register, you can call 13 74 68.

If you are on a victims register, you have the right to be given information about the person who harmed you.

This includes telling you:

• when the person can be released.
• if the person is transferred to another facility
• if the adult person applies for parole, and what decision the Parole Board makes.
• if the person escapes from prison.

Write to the Parole Board

If the adult person who harmed you applies for parole, you may be eligible to write to the Parole Board to have your say about the person being granted parole.

If you feel your rights have not been upheld, you have the right to make a complaint.

A friend or family member can also make a complaint on your behalf, as long as they have your permission.

To make a complaint, you can:

• speak directly to the agency you wish to complain about, or
• contact the Office of the Victims' Commissioner.