Related Victims - Financial Assistance Scheme Overview
The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) can provide support to individuals who are a close family member, dependant or in an intimate personal relationship with someone who passed away as a result of a violent act.
Who is Considered a Related Victim?
Close Family Member
Dependant
Intimate Personal Relationship
You must also:
- Satisfy all other eligibility requirements, including making your application within time limits
- Be able to provide evidence of the relationship that you had with your loved one
- Be able to provide evidence that your loved one was a primary victim and passed due to a violent act
Close Family Member
To be considered a close family member, you would need to have had a genuine personal relationship with your loved one at the time of their passing, and be a:
- Spouse or domestic partner
- Parent, guardian or step-parent
- Child, step-child or child through guardianship
- Sibling or step-sibling
A close family member may include individuals who the deceased victim regarded as close family when they passed away, provided the FAS deems this relationship reasonable under the circumstances. This broader definition encompasses Aboriginal kinship relationships, extended families, and chosen families within LGBTIQA+ communities.
How to demonstrate your relationship
Applicants who are close family members can provide any of the following documents:
- Birth or adoption certificate
- Guardianship documentation
- Foster care documentation
- Letter from a local Aboriginal community-controlled organisation
- Marriage or relationship registration certificates
- Government documents showing the relationship
Applicants who may not have access to the above documents or may need to evidence their relationship with their loved one can also use the following:
- Statutory declaration detailing the relationship
- Statutory declaration from other related victims
- Victim impact statement
- Shared financial/residential records
- Personal communications
- Other documents that demonstrate your close connection with your loved one.
Example: Sadie and Mikayla were cousins, but they grew up together and were regarded by their families as being close as sisters. After leaving home, they also lived together for several years in a shared apartment. One evening, Sadie was walking home from work and was struck by a car in a drunk-driving incident. Sadie was taken to hospital but sadly died from her injuries.
FAS may view Mikayla as a related victim, given that she was a close family member of Sadie’s, and at the time of her death, Sadie viewed and treated Mikayla as a sister.
Dependant
To be considered a dependant of a primary victim, you would need to be:
- Substantially dependent on your loved one's income at the time of their passing
- Would have been dependent on your loved one's income if it wasn't for their incapacity due to the injury which resulted in their passing
- A child born after the loved one's passing that otherwise would have been dependent
The FAS will look at the following to determine whether you would be considered a dependant:
- Whether you relied entirely on your loved one's income
- What extent you relied on your loved one's income if not entirely
- Further circumstances of your relationship
How to demonstrate your dependency
If you are dependent on a loved one who has passed due to a violent crime, you'll be required to evidence this financial dependency using any of the following documents:
- Documents showing payments or benefits provided by your loved one to you
- Documents showing financial dependency through shared accounts or addresses
- Details of beneficiaries showing your dependence
You may want to consider providing additional documents detailing your relationship with your deceased loved one:
- Statutory declaration detailing your relationship and reliance on your loved one's income, supported by:
- Letter from their employer detailing their earnings, including how they were calculated
- 3 years tax returns for the primary victim and financial details for the claim period
- Documents verifying financial payments such as WorkCover, Transport Accident Commission, and Centrelink payments and any other payments provided by the primary victim's estate
- Victim Impact Statement
- Any other documents that show evidence of your financial circumstances and the nature of your relationship
Example: Ava is Leo's granddaughter. Leo works full time and provides financial support for Ava. Although they live separately, Leo pays for Ava's rent, utilities, and groceries. Ava is currently studying and relies entirely on Leo's income for her living expenses. Leo becomes the victim of a violent act and sadly passes away as a result of his injuries.
Ava is a related victim, as she was wholly financially dependent on Leo at the time of his death.
Intimate Personal Relationship
As an 'intimate personal relationship' can take a number of forms, the FAS will consider the following:
- The extent to which you were dependent on each other
- The length of your relationship and frequency of contact
- If there was an ongoing sexual relationship
- The emotional commitment, comfort, advice, and support of a personal nature between you
- Involvement in each other's personal lives, including sharing of confidences and intimacies
- If you shared care of or support for children or other dependants
- If the two people shared a mutual commitment to a shared life
How to demonstrate your intimate personal relationship
You are recommended to provide documentary evidence showing the nature of your relationship with your loved one who passed. This could be:
- Documents showing shared expenses and financial responsibilities
- Letter from a local Aboriginal community-controlled organisation
- Documents showing a mutual commitment to a shared life
You may also want to consider providing additional documents to support your application. These documents could include:
- Victim Impact Statement
- Statutory declarations detailing the nature of your relationship by describing:
- How your relationship with your loved one started
- What activities you liked to undertake together
- Significant events in your relationship
- Messages between the two of you
- Joint invitations for travel plans
- Evidence of you both participating in sporting, cultural or social activities
- Photos of you both that demonstrate your relationship
- Any other documents that show your intimate personal relationship
Example: Ella and Amy were long-time housemates and had been close friends for more than a decade. They were both estranged from their respective families and as a result, had become like family to each other. They were listed as each other's emergency contacts, celebrated milestones and special occasions together, and shared most of their daily routines. They had plans to continue living together and eventually purchase a home until Ella was the victim of a violent assault and sadly passed away from her injuries.
The FAS may view Amy as a related victim due to the intimate and personal nature of her relationship with Ella.
What Support Is Available?
As a related victim, you could be entitled to up to $50,000 towards the following:
- Counselling expenses
- Medical expenses
- A distress payment
- Loss of money
- Other expenses as a result of the victim's passing
- In exceptional circumstances expenses to assist with your recovery
The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) can also pay for the funeral expenses incurred as a direct result of the death of a primary victim of a violent act. Funeral expenses are paid in addition to the $50,000 limit of assistance that can be provided to related victims.
Speak To A Solicitor
If you believe that you may fall into one of the categories listed above or have any questions about which type of assistance you may be eligible to receive, we would encourage you to contact our office for further assistance.