Hon Jess Beckerling asks about Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) referral acceptance and wait times. The Minister for Health provides details on crisis support and longer-term therapy wait times.

AnsweredQoN 846Legislative Council
Asked
15 October 2025
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

Sexual Assault Resource Centre
846. Hon Jess Beckerling to the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to recent
concerns raised with me by community members who contacted the Sexual Assault
Resource Centre recently.
(1) Is the SARC currently accepting new referrals
for sexual assault counselling?
(2) If yes to (1), what is the current wait time
from first call to first appointment?
(3) If no to (1), why not?
(4) What has been the average wait time from first
call to first appointment for the past 12 months?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has
been provided by the Minister for Health.
(1) Yes.
(2) Presentations to SARC are triaged to determine
whether crisis support is required. SARC provides a crisis line that is open to
everyone who has experienced sexual assault or historical child sexual abuse.
There is no waitlist for this care. For clients requiring crisis support, the
current wait time from first call to first appointment is two to four weeks.
For clients who do not require crisis support but require longer term trauma
therapy, the current wait time from first call to first appointment is 10 to 12
months depending on the circumstances and location for therapy requested by the
client.
(3) Not applicable.
(4) Please refer to part (2).

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