Manage a Charter complaint

If a victim of violent crime feels as though their rights under the Charter of Victims’ Rights have not been upheld, they have the right to make a complaint.

A victim can choose to either:

• make a complaint to the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner
• complain directly to the organisation or agency they feel has not upheld their rights.

If your organisation or agency has obligations under the Charter, and a victim makes a complaint that you identify as relating to the Charter, under section 46 of the Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board Act 2024 (Qld), you must advise them:

• how to make a Charter complaint against your organisation and the process that would be used to resolve the complaint, or
• that they can make a complaint to Office of the Victims’ Commissioner if they would prefer to complain to us.

Under section 46 of the legislation, your agency or organisation can comply with this provision by referring a Charter complaint to the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner.

If the victim would like your organisation or agency to consider the complaint:

• refer them to your organisation / agency’s complaint handling policies and procedures.

If the victim would like the Victims’ Commissioner to consider the complaint, follow these steps:

1. Obtain the victim’s consent - Before sharing any information, make sure you have the victim’s explicit consent to refer their complaint to us.
2. Provide contact and safety information - Ask the victim for their preferred contact details and any relevant information about how it is safe to contact them. Include this information in your referral to help us communicate securely and appropriately.
3. Confirm the referral under section 46 - Clearly state in your referral that the complaint is being referred to the Victims’ Commissioner under section 46 of the legislation.
4. Inform the victim about the Victims’ Commissioner - Provide the victim with information about the role of the Victims’ Commissioner and our complaint process. You can direct them to our website for further details.

Send the referral to us - Please send the referral to contact@victimscommissioner.qld.gov.au. Ensure the referral includes all the information above to help us assist the victim promptly and effectively. You can ask the victim if they would like to be included in this email.