New South Wales' system of compensating victims of crime needs to be thoroughly reviewed.

NSW Labor will provide an extra $10 million per year to increase recognition payments for victims fo crime. This is calculated to increase lump sum recognition payments for victims of crime by 50%.

A Labor Government will also conduct a full review of NSW's system for compensating victims of crime.

In 2013 the NSW Liberals introduced dramatic changes to the system of compensating victims of crime.

The Liberals and Nationals changed the system to dramatically reduce the amount of money paid to victims and were criticised by advocates for victims of crime and by the Labor opposition.

In a clear show of real priorities, the Liberals and Nationals removed the word compensation from the title of the legislation.

The payment amounts in the NSW Liberal's 2013 victims of crime compensation scheme were not indexed. The level of compensation remains the same as in 2013.

Michael Daley and Labor will index the amounts of compensation in the scheme so that victims don't lose out over the long term.

A significant proportion of the scheme's claimants are the victims of domestic and sexual violence.

In 2015/16 45% of applications for recognition payments related to domestic violence and 25% to sexual assault. 69% of applications were by women. (Recogniton payments are the lum sum element of the scheme).



(Authorised by Kaila Murnain, Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch), 9/377 Sussex Street, Sydney 2000)