❓ Hon. Kate Doust asks about criminal injuries compensation eligibility for overseas relatives covering funeral expenses and support for victims' families. The Attorney General clarifies eligibility and offers specific assistance.
AnsweredQoN 986Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION
986. Hon KATE DOUST to the Attorney General:
I refer to criminal injuries
compensation.
(1) Is a close
relative who is not a resident of Australia eligible to claim compensation to
cover Western Australian funeral expenses for a person killed as a result of an
offence?
(2) If no to (1),
why not?
(3) If a person
is killed as a result of an offence and has no close relative in Australia, who
acts in the best interests of the deceased person?
(4) What
assistance does the government provide to friends and family of victims of
crime?
986. Hon KATE DOUST to the Attorney General:
I refer to criminal injuries
compensation.
(1) Is a close
relative who is not a resident of Australia eligible to claim compensation to
cover Western Australian funeral expenses for a person killed as a result of an
offence?
(2) If no to (1),
why not?
(3) If a person
is killed as a result of an offence and has no close relative in Australia, who
acts in the best interests of the deceased person?
(4) What
assistance does the government provide to friends and family of victims of
crime?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) If the
expense is incurred by the close relative and the deceased's estate is
insufficient to meet the cost, the relative is eligible for compensation for
the expense, wherever that relative resides.
(2) Not
applicable.
(3) If there is a
particular case of concern to the member, I ask that she bring it to my
attention so that a considered response can be provided.
In
fact, the honourable member has spoken to me behind the Chair about the
circumstances that she is concerned about and given a bit of the background to
this particular matter. I have offered to assist her through meeting with her
and obtaining the necessary advice specific to this particular case.
(4) The
state government provides the following assistance to friends and family of
victims of crime: family liaison officers are part of WA Police investigating
teams in cases of homicide; the Sexual Assault Resource Centre in the
Department of Health; and victim support services, child witness and family
violence services in the Department of the Attorney General to assist with
court processes, although it may be that those matters are of little relevance
to the particular issue that Hon Kate Doust
is concerned about.
some notice of the question.
(1) If the
expense is incurred by the close relative and the deceased's estate is
insufficient to meet the cost, the relative is eligible for compensation for
the expense, wherever that relative resides.
(2) Not
applicable.
(3) If there is a
particular case of concern to the member, I ask that she bring it to my
attention so that a considered response can be provided.
In
fact, the honourable member has spoken to me behind the Chair about the
circumstances that she is concerned about and given a bit of the background to
this particular matter. I have offered to assist her through meeting with her
and obtaining the necessary advice specific to this particular case.
(4) The
state government provides the following assistance to friends and family of
victims of crime: family liaison officers are part of WA Police investigating
teams in cases of homicide; the Sexual Assault Resource Centre in the
Department of Health; and victim support services, child witness and family
violence services in the Department of the Attorney General to assist with
court processes, although it may be that those matters are of little relevance
to the particular issue that Hon Kate Doust
is concerned about.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.