If you are injured due to the violence of another, you may be entitled to seek compensation.
There are several ways to go about this process, including:
- Private mediation
- Justice Mediation
- Victim Assist
Private mediation
If both parties agree, they may meet privately in order to negotiate a settlement.
Often, it is necessary for the police to agree to drop or not press charges on the request of the victim.
If no agreement is reached, the parties can walk away and either continue to negotiate, or pursue an alternative course of restitution.
Justice Mediation
If both parties and the police agree, they may attend a “Justice Mediation”, whereby an impartial mediator will aim to resolve the situation, usually with the victim agreeing to police dropping charges in exchange for payment, an apology and other remedies.
The parties agree to attend the Justice Mediation on the basis that the decision is binding on both parties.
Victim Assist
The Victim Assist service provides reimbursement or payment for expenses incurred as a result of a crime, including medical, out of pocket and rehabilitative expenses.
The focus of the scheme is on rehabilitation rather than compensation.
The scheme is restrictive in that there is no provision for a number of “heads of damage”, including past and future loss of income, pain and suffering and suffering, and past and future care and assistance.
There is also very limited ability to recover legal expenses incurred in receiving compensation.
For more information, please see the following external resources: