New guidelines for handling Charter of Victims’ Rights complaints

About the project

Provisions in the Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board Act 2024 (the Act) relating to the Charter of Victims’ Rights and the Commissioner’s systemic review function commence on 2 September.

With its commencement, all Queensland Government agencies interacting with victims of violent crime will have new complaint handling and reporting requirements.

Queensland Government officers should note that the process for victims to make complaints regarding their rights under the Charter of Victims’ Rights (the Charter) will also change when the Act commences.

Changes to complaints

From 2 September 2024, if a victim believes their rights under the Charter have not been upheld, they can:

• make a complaint to the agency that they believe didn’t uphold their right or
• make a complaint to the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner.

Charter complaints made to agencies

Agencies that receive a Charter complaint are required to:

• give the complainant information about the relevant complaints process
• take all reasonable steps to resolve the complaint as soon as is reasonably practicable or refer the complaint to the appropriate entity
• record the complaint as being a Charter of Victims’ Rights complaint, including what Charter right it related to and how it was resolved.

Charter complaints made to the Victims’ Commissioner

Under the Act, the Victims’ Commissioner can handle a complaint if

• it has been made by or on behalf of a victim of crime
• it is in relation to a violent offence, including all forms of domestic and family   violence
• it relates to rights under the Charter
• the agency the complaint is about is a government or government-funded agency.

The Victims’ Commissioner can request information from agencies or, with the consent of the complainant, refer a matter to be dealt with by an agency.

The Victims’ Commissioner will seek to resolve complaints it deals with. This may include the Commissioner recommending improvements to agencies’ practices, policies or systems.

The Victims’ Commissioner will monitor and evaluate action taken in response to recommendations and will report annually by providing de-identified information about complaints received and their resolution.

New reporting requirements

The Act requires Queensland Government agencies to determine if a complaint relates to Charter rights and to include all Charter-related complaints in their annual report.

The annual report needs to include:

• total number of complaints received
• number of complaints against each Charter right
• how the complaint was resolved
• number of complaints referred to other agencies to address.

Government complaint handlers will need to:

• review and update procedures to align with the new requirements of the Act
• refresh their knowledge of the Charter and update complaints handling procedures
• work with your IT team or annual reporting team to accurately capture and publish the required data
• be aware that the Commissioner will be able to deal with Charter rights complaints when the provisions commence.

Systemic review

To support the Victims’ Commissioner’s systemic review function, the Commissioner will request information from agencies as needed.

The Victims’ Commissioner will also provide advice and recommendations to the Government on improving policies, procedures and systems that support the rights and needs of victims.

Timeline of changes

• 29 July 2024 - Beck O’Connor begins her 5 year term as Victims’ Commissioner.
• July 2024 - Agencies review complaints processes to identify where changes are needed to comply with the requirements of the Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board   Act 2024.
• July and August 2024 - Changes to agencies’ complaints handling processes have been made and teams have been trained in their use. This includes providing information and training to staff on the Charter of Victims’ Rights so they can identify a Charter rights complaint.
• 2 September 2024 - Agencies begin identifying and recording all Charter rights complaints received. Office of the Victims’ Commissioner complaints handling processes commence. The role of dealing with Charter-related victims’ complaints moves from Victim Assist Queensland to the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner. Agencies can still deal with Charter rights complaints they receive.
• July 2025 - Agencies report on Charter rights complaints in their 2024-25 annual reports

Resources

The Office of the Victims’ Commissioner offers resources to help you prepare for the changes:

• Recorded webinar summarising the changes
• Applying the Charter in complaint scenarios recorded in a webinar

You can subscribe to receive email updates  from the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner.