THERE was an 86 per cent increase in victims of crime applying for financial assistance, the largest annual increase since Victim Support ACT’s financial assistance scheme began seven years ago, says the latest annual report of the ACT Human Rights Commission

In total, the commission received more than 1100 complaints and over 2300 inquiries in 2022-23, according to its annual report.

“We have seen another year of consistently high complaints, which we link to a growing awareness
about using the commission’s complaints process to resolve concerns and issues,” said Acting Human Rights Commission President Heidi Yates.

“In the past year, we also provided significantly more financial assistance and client co-ordination to victims of crime than in previous years.”

Key data from the commission’s annual report shows:
 More complaints from older people, including complaints about retirement villages.
 Complaints about the poor treatment or neglect of vulnerable Canberrans increased from 2 in 2019-20 (commenced May 2020) to 43 this year.
 Victim Support ACT (VSACT) assisted more than 3250 victims of crime; including a 29 per cent increase in new clients accessing case coordination.
 The ACT Intermediary Program experienced a 52 per cent increase in referrals compared to last year.
 The Public Advocate processed over 10,700 compliance documents for over 2,500 children, young people and adults
 The Children and Young People Commissioner consulted with over 645 children and young people on issues including wellbeing and their experiences of racism.
 The human rights legal team provided 113 pieces of legal advice or submissions; human rights training for more than 200 people; and intervened in three Supreme Court cases.