Published: September 25, 2025

Supporting a child to apply

Can a child apply for Victim Assist?

Anyone who has experienced an act of violence in Queensland may apply to Victim Assist. However, the application process is a little different for victim-survivors that are under 18.

A child will not be able to make the Victim Assist application themselves. The application may be made by:

• the child’s parents or guardians;
• a lawyer representing the child, if the child is at least 12 years old; or
• someone else approved by Victim Assist.

If you are working with a child who would like to apply to Victim Assist and their parent or guardian are not best placed to help them apply, you must obtain legal assistance for the child.

When will the child receive the special assistance payment?

If a Victim Assist application is approved for a child, the money will be held by the Public Trustee. The child will not be able to access the money until they turn 18, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

However, a child’s legal guardian may request funds from the child’s trust if the money is to be used for the direct benefit of the child. The Public Trustee may release funds from a child’s trust for:

• education expenses, such as school fees, school laptops, books, tutoring expenses
• medical expenses, such as braces
• in some circumstances, maintenance expenses of the child, such as food, clothing or accommodation.

Should a child make an application, or wait until they are an adult?

A child that has experienced violence has until their 21st birthday to apply to Victim Assist.

For some victim-survivors that are not yet 18, it may be better to wait to apply until they turn 18 to make an application for financial assistance. At 18, the victim-survivor can apply without the support of a parent or lawyer. When their application is approved any special assistance payment will be paid directly into their bank account.

However, this may not be the best option if the child needs to access financial assistance to aid their recovery from the violence. This is because Victim Assist will not reimburse expenses related to a person’s recovery until an application has been approved. This financial assistance may include:

• counselling expenses;
• medical expenses;
• incidental travel expenses incurred;
• report expenses;
• loss of earnings suffered;
• relocation expenses including emergency accommodation;
• expenses incurred by the victim for damage to clothing being worn when the act of violence occurred.

If you’re supporting a child or a family with a child that has experienced violence, you may want to speak with the child, and if applicable their family, about whether they want to wait until closer to their 18th birthday or apply immediately.

For some victim-survivors, they may want to apply immediately so they can get financial assistance to access support services. Others may prefer to wait so that they receive their recognition payment directly into their bank account without the money first being held by the Public Trustee.