Victims
Information for victims of serious crime – including family members of a victim who died as the result of a crime – on:
- the legal process ahead
- your rights as a victim
- the support and assistance available to you.
Going to court and being a witness
- Early questions witnesses often ask
- What happens before you go to court
- On the day
- In the witness box.
Witness Assistance Service
The ODPP’s Witness Assistance Service (WAS) provides support and information to victims of serious crime and vulnerable witnesses in matters we prosecute.
Your rights as a victim of crime
You are entitled to be treated with respect, kept updated on the case, and, in some matters, consulted before charges against the accused can be changed.
Witness expenses
The expenses you can claim for going to court to give evidence.
Victim impact statements
If you were harmed in a serious crime or are a family member of a victim who died as the result of a crime, you will usually be able to make a victim impact statement if the offender pleads guilty or is found guilty.
Financial and other support and information
Information on the financial and other assistance and support that may be available to you, and contact details for other services.
Prosecuting crimes: The legal process
- The main steps in a criminal prosecution
- What happens in trials, sentencing and appeals
- Prosecutions in the Local and Children’s Courts
- When the accused is mentally ill or impaired