64844 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice

64844 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice: Has budget 24 returned or partially returned funding allocated to the Victim's Operating Model; if so has the remaining funding been refocused on other initiatives and what are those initiatives?

Hon Paul Goldsmith: At Budget 2024, half ($24.938 million) of the Victims of Crime: Improving Outcomes Tagged Operating Contingency was returned as savings. The remaining half has been put towards other Victims of Crime: Improving Outcomes Action Plan initiatives, including: - Establishing dedicated support for victims of youth crime which doesn’t currently exist in the Youth Justice Systems. - Trialling specialists to help victims write Victim Impact Statements that are provided to Judges. - Contracting specialist restorative justice services for people who experience sexual violence by youth offenders. - Enabling more victims of serious crime to participate in parole hearings where offenders have been convicted of manslaughter or sentenced to life imprisonment or preventive detention. - Identifying and implementing opportunities to improve how complaints are handled, by analysing complaints from across the sector, and building regional victim networks. - Undertaking an evaluation of the Victims Assistance Scheme to help guide future investment.