Support for victims of crime

Support for victims

The Mental Health Act 2016 supports victims of crime when the offender has a mental illness or intellectual disability.

Under the Mental Health Act 2016, particular victims of crime are entitled to:

• submit victim impact statements to the Mental Health Court and Mental Health Review Tribunal
• receive specific information about an involuntary patient where it is relevant to the victim's safety and wellbeing.

The Chief Psychiatrist is responsible for providing relevant information to particular victims. Read the Support for victims fact sheet (PDF 1158 kB) to learn more.

Principles of victim support

The Mental Health Act 2016 establishes a set of principles which a person performing a function under the Act in relation to a victim must have regard to. The principles include that the:

• physical, psychological and emotional harm caused to the victim must be recognised with compassion
• benefits of counselling, advice on the nature of proceedings under the Act and other support services to the recovery of the victim from the harm caused by the unlawful act must be recognised
• benefits to the victim of being advised in a timely way of proceedings under the Act against a person in relation to the unlawful act must be recognised.

Victim impact statements

If you're a victim or a close relative of a victim and the offender has a mental illness or intellectual disability, in certain circumstances you can make a victim impact statement to the:

• Mental Health Court
• Mental Health Review Tribunal.

Your statement can include:

• the impact the relevant offence had on you
• requests for orders that are relevant to your safety and wellbeing.

If the statement is submitted to the Mental Health Court, the court must consider the statement when is decides matters related to the offence. Decisions include the type of order which may be made for the person before the court, such as a forensic order, or conditions for any order made, such as whether the person can contact you.

The court must also then provide a copy of the victim impact statement to the Tribunal. The Tribunal is required to consider the victim impact statement at each review of the patient’s order.

If your victim impact statement is given to the Tribunal by the court, you don't need to submit another statement, but you can submit a new one at any time you may wish too.

The Queensland Health Victim Support Service can help you prepare your statement.

You can also find information for victims on the Mental Health Review Tribunal website.

Information notices

Information notices authorise the Chief Psychiatrist or the Director of Forensic Disability to provide specific information to a victim of crime or other person affected by an unlawful act.

Information notices can be made for a victim in relation to a patient who is subject to a forensic order or a treatment support order.

Information provided under an information notice can include:

• when Mental Health Review Tribunal reviews of the patient's order are scheduled
• decisions by the Tribunal including about community treatment
• when an appeal has been made and decisions about the appeal
• when a patient transfer occurs including between authorised mental health services (AMHSs) or interstate transfers.

Read the Support for victims fact sheet (PDF 1158 kB) to learn more about information notices under the Mental Health Act 2016.

Classified patient information

If a person with a mental illness is transferred to an authorised mental health service (AMHS) for treatment or care from a prison, youth detention centre, or watch house, they can be admitted as a classified patient.

The Chief Psychiatrist may provide information to victims of crime where the offence relates to a classified patient in certain circumstances including if a person:

• has been admitted to an AMHS as a classified patient
• has been transferred from one AMHS to another while they are a classified patient
• is no longer a classified patient and the reasons why the classified status ended, for example the person was returned to custody.

The Chief Psychiatrist must stop providing information about the classified patient if the patient’s admission as a classified patient ends.

Read the following fact sheets to learn more about applying for classified patient information and the provisions for classified patients.

• Victim information - Classified patients fact sheet (PDF 1038 kB)
• Classified patients provisions fact sheet (PDF 504 kB)

Who can apply

You can apply for an information notice or classified patient information if you're:

• a victim of the relevant unlawful act
• a close relative of a victim
• another person who has suffered harm because of the relevant unlawful act.

You can also nominate another person to receive the information for you. You can also ask to nominate another person any time after you apply.

How to apply

Apply through the Queensland Health Victim Support Service. The service will coordinate your application with the Chief Psychiatrist or the Director of Forensic Disability.

Use the following forms.

You'll need to include the following with your application form.

• Certified proof of identity
• A statutory declaration that you won't publish the information you receive under an information notice.

If you nominate another person to receive the information for you, they'll also need to provide a statutory declaration that they won't publish the information.

Send your application to the Queensland Health Victim Support Service. You can also contact them if you need help applying.

• Email: Victim.Support@health.qld.gov.au
• Post: PO Box 710, Ashgrove Qld 4060
• Phone: 07 3858 4411 or 1800 208 005

For information notice applications, the Queensland Health Victim Support Service will let you know the decision within:

• 14 days if you're a direct victim or close relative of a direct victim
• 28 days if you're not a direct victim or close relative of a direct victim.

For classified patient information, the Queensland Health Victim Support Service will let you know the outcome as soon as possible.

All information provided to victims under an information notice or about a classified patient must remain confidential.  You can't share it or publish it.

If you share any information with the public such as posting it on social media, the information notice may be cancelled.

Appeals

You can appeal the decision by the Chief Psychiatrist or Director of Forensic Disability about an information notice at the Mental Health Review Tribunal if the decision was to:

• refuse an application for an information notice
• revoke an information notice
• refuse to amend nominee on an information notice.

You must apply within 28 days of receiving the written decision, which will be provided to you by the Queensland Health Victim Support Service.

Use the Notice of Appeal forms on the Mental Health Review Tribunal's website. For help or advice about appeals contact the Queensland Health Victim Support Service.