Cost	CLE Credits	Topics
$50.00	1.0 General

Presented By : Heidi Yates, Allison Munro, Kath Taplin
Date: 22 May 2024

Without victims' willingness to engage and provide evidence we do not have a criminal justice system. Despite this, victims often report feeling unheard and re-traumatised by justice processes, and find that their rights go unrecognised in favour of the accused. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is a common law jurisdiction with a statutory bill of rights. The Victims of Crime Commissioner is an appointed statutory advocate within the ACT Human Rights Commission, affording her an independent voice armed with the power of proximity to government and human rights authority. The Commissioner has complementary functions, she is a statutory advocate, advisor to Ministers, and leads ‘Victim Support ACT’ a multidisciplinary, operational team dedicated to assisting victims to recover from the effects of violent crime and advocating for victim rights at every stage of the justice system. While there remains significant ground to cover, this model (unique in Australia, and internationally) provides a powerful opportunity for the amplification of victim voices, driving rights-based systemic reform and assisting the ACT to better balance the rights of victims and offenders.