I am looking for:

Tags

Published: September 25, 2025

Reporting to Police

To be eligible for financial assistance from Victim Assist, a victim-survivor must report the act of violence to an appropriate person or agency.

Most victim-survivors will need to report to the police. However, there are some victim-survivors that can report to a counsellor, psychologist, doctor, or domestic violence service.

Does a victim-survivor need to report to the police?

It is very common for community members to be hesitant in reporting their experience of violence to the police.

For some victim-survivors, there may already be a report to the police. For example, a victim of domestic violence may not have reported to the police, but there may be a police report that already exists if the police previously responded to reports of violence.

For other victim-survivors, they may disclose to you an experience of violence that has never been reported to the police. As an initial step, it is important to figure out whether the victim-survivor needs to report to the police before they apply to Victim Assist.

If the community member is a ‘special primary victim’ they are not required to report to the police (although they can if they want too). Instead, they can report the violence to a counsellor, psychologist, doctor, or domestic violence service.

If the community member is not a special primary victim but is unable or unwilling to report to the police, they may still be eligible. We discuss this further below.

Is the victim-survivor a special primary victim?

The victim-survivor will be a special primary victim if they:

    • experienced sexual violence

    • were under 18 at the time of the violence

    • experienced domestic or family violence

    • have impaired capacity

    • experienced violence by a person who was in a position of power, influence or trust in relation to the person when the violence occurred (such as a person’s parent, spouse or carer)

    • is being threatened or intimidated by the perpetrator of violence, or by someone else

If the victim-survivor falls into one of the above categories, they do not need to report to the police.

However, they will need to show Victim Assist that they have reported the violence to a counsellor, psychologist, doctor, or domestic violence services.

The victim-survivor’s counsellor, psychologist, doctor or domestic violence worker should complete a Victim Assist Queensland Special primary victim report

 

In some circumstances, a special primary victim who has reported the violence to the police may still need to report the violence to their counsellor, psychologist, doctor, or domestic violence services to ensure that they receive the appropriate financial recognition payment for their experience of violence.

For example:

Jessica tells you that she has experienced domestic violence from her intimate partner. Jessica has reported the physical violence she experienced in the relationship to the police and has a domestic violence order. Jessica felt uncomfortable reporting to the police her experience of rape within the relationship but has told her psychologist.

Jessica should obtain a Victim Assist Queensland Special primary victim report from her psychologist, so that her experience of rape is considered as part of her application and she receives a Category A payment in recognition of the rape she experienced.

If Jessica does not provide this reporting from her psychologist, she will receive a Category B payment in recognition of the domestic violence that was reported to the police.

 

The victim-survivor is not a special primary victim, but is afraid to report to the police

If the victim-survivor is not a special primary victim but is afraid to report to the police, they may still be eligible for Victim Assist. This will depend on why they are unable to report the violence to the police.

If a victim-survivor tells you they are worried about reporting due to their own safety, they may qualify as a special primary victim as a result of being threatened by the perpetrator or someone else.

Even where the victim-survivor is not a special primary victim, the legislation allows Victim Assist to approve an application where the victim-survivor has not reported to police if the assessor ‘is reasonably satisfied there is no reasonable excuse for the report not being made’.

Jake has a long history of negative interactions with the police. He’s previous reported experience of violence to the police that were not investigated. Jake has reported feeling targeted by the police when he’s in the city. Even though he’s experienced violence, he doesn’t want to report to the police.

By explaining his circumstances to Victim Assist, James is able to convince the assessor that he has a reasonable excuse for not reporting to the police. If a victim-survivor tells you they are worried about reporting due to their own safety, they may qualify as a special primary victim as a result of being threatened by the perpetrator or someone else.

If your client is not a special primary victim, does not report to the police and there is no reasonable excuse not to report the violence, financial assistance may not be granted. If you find yourself in this situation, the community member may want to get legal advice about their options.