In the ACT, people who have been victims of crime can choose to be placed on the Victims Register. This ensures that they are contacted about opportunities to make submissions to the Sentence Administration Board about matters such as the offender’s application for release on parole. The Victims Register Unit must treat you with respect and take your concerns seriously.
After an offender is sentenced, the Victims Register Unit or another justice agency must tell the victim of the crime how they can be registered on the Victims Register and explain the rights of registered victims.
If you are registered, the Victims Register Unit must tell you certain information about the offender, for example if they are being transferred or released from prison, or if they escape. The Victims Register Unit must also tell you the actions you can take to prevent contact from the offender.
You can also ask the Victims Register Unit for information about the offender, and they may tell you if they think it is appropriate.
If you think that the Victims Register Unit have not respected your rights as a victim of crime, or you were not told about the Victims Register by another justice agency, you should call the ACT Human Rights Commission on (02) 6205 2222.
There are some exceptions to these rights, but our team can talk to you about your particular situation and help you to decide if you should make a victims rights complaint.
You can find more information about the particular rights that the Victims Register Unit must respect on the Victims Support ACT website: https://www.victimsupport.act.gov.au/victims-rights/justice-agencies-and-their-obligations/adult-offenders-victims-register or in the Victims of Crime Act 1994 (ACT) https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/View/a/1994-83/current/PDF/1994-83.PDF.