Support for family members of a homicide victim

The Scheme can provide up to 22 hours of free counselling to help your recovery.

Who can apply?

• Family victims. 

• Related family members, who are not family victims.

How long do I have to apply?

There is no time limit to apply for counselling.

What do I need to apply?

• A completed Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim.
• A clear copy or image of your current government-issued identification.

For more information about the supporting documents we need, see Supporting documents for family members of a homicide victim.

The Scheme can provide up to $5,000 to help pay for urgent health, safety and wellbeing expenses, such as relocation, security upgrade, and crime scene cleaning (forensic cleaning). This can also include claiming certain travel expenses incurred as a direct result of the homicide victim's death, including travel and accommodation costs for attending the funeral or other necessary travel undertaken due to the violent crime.

Who can apply?

• Family victims.
• Service providers, such as forensic cleaners. If payment is approved, this amount will be paid from the amount of financial assistance available to eligible family victims. 

How long do I have to apply?

Within 2 years from the date the death was established as a homicide, or within 2 years of turning 18 if the family victim was a child at the time of the homicide. 

What do I need to apply?

Family victims need to provide:

•  a completed Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim
• a clear copy or image of your current government-issued identification
•  your bank account details 
• evidence of your relationship to the homicide victim
• copies of itemised tax invoices or receipts for the costs you are claiming and a description of how the costs are related to the homicide
• a completed Family Victims Travel Expense Claim form, if you would like to claim certain expenses to attend the homicide victim’s funeral and other urgent and necessary travel undertaken due to the violent crime.

For more information about the supporting documents we need, see Supporting documents for family members of a homicide victim.

Service providers need to provide:

• a completed Forensic Cleaning Expenses form
• copies of itemised tax invoices or receipts and a description of how the costs are related to the homicide.

For more information about crime scene cleaning (forensic cleaning), visit Forensic cleaning.

The Scheme can provide up to $9,500 to the homicide victim’s family to help cover the costs of the funeral. 

Who can apply?

• Family victims.
• Funeral directors. If payment is approved, this amount will be paid from the amount of financial assistance available to eligible family victims. 

How long do I have to apply?

Within 2 years from the date the death was established as a homicide, or within 2 years of turning 18 if the family victim was a child at the time of the homicide. 

What do I need to apply?

Family victims need to provide:

• a completed Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim
• a clear copy or image of your current government-issued identification
• your bank account details 
• evidence of your relationship to the homicide victim
• copies of itemised tax invoices or receipts for the costs you are claiming and a description of how the costs are related to the funeral.

For more information about the supporting documents we need, see Supporting documents for family members of a homicide victim.

Funeral directors need to provide:

• a completed Funeral Expenses by a Funeral Director form 
• copies of itemised tax invoices or receipts and a description of how the costs are related to the funeral.

To learn more about financial assistance for funeral expenses, visit Funeral expenses.

The Scheme can provide up to $5,000 to help pay for some costs of attending court or coronial hearings.

Who can apply?

Family victims.

How long do I have to apply?

Within 2 years from the date the death was established as a homicide, or within 2 years of turning 18 if the family victim was a child at the time of the homicide. 

What do I need to apply?

• A completed Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim.
• A clear copy or image of your current government-issued identification.
• Your bank account details. 
• Evidence of your relationship to the homicide victim.
• Copies of itemised tax invoices or receipts for the costs you are claiming and a description of how the costs are related to the homicide.
• A completed Family Victims Travel Expense Claim form, if you would like to claim certain travel expenses to attend criminal or coronial proceedings and other justice-related events.

For more information about the supporting documents we need, see Supporting documents for family members of a homicide victim.

The Scheme can provide a recognition payment of up to $15,000 to acknowledge the homicide. 

The recognition payment amount will depend on the nature of the relationship between the applicant and the homicide victim. 

Who can apply?

• Family victims who were financially dependent on the homicide victim can apply for a payment of $15,000.
• Children of the homicide victim, who were under 18 at the time of the victim’s death, can apply for a payment of $15,000.
• Parents, step-parents, guardians, current spouses and de facto partners of a homicide victim can apply for a payment of $7,500.

How long do I have to apply?

Within 2 years from the date the death was established as a homicide, or within 2 years of turning 18 if the family victim was a child at the time of the homicide. 

What do I need to apply?

• A completed Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim.
• A clear copy or image of your current government-issued identification.
• Your bank account details. 
• Evidence of your relationship to the homicide victim.
• Evidence of your financial dependency on the homicide victim if you are applying on that basis. This is not required if you are a child of the homicide victim and were under 18 years of age at the time of the violent crime.

For more information about the supporting documents we need, see Supporting documents for family members of a homicide victim.

All applicants must provide a copy of their current government-issued identification with their application. To find out which types of identification we accept, visit Supporting documents. 

If you’re unable to provide a copy of your government-issued identification, please contact us to discuss your options. 

If you are providing documents in a language other than English, you need to provide a copy of the original document along with a certified translation. To learn more, visit Supporting documents.

If you’re applying for financial assistance or a recognition payment, you will need to provide details of a bank account in your name. If you would like victims support payments to be made to an account in another name, please contact the Victims Access Line or Aboriginal Contact Line before submitting your application as we will need further documentation from you to accept your application.

You will need to provide a copy of at least one of the following documents to confirm your relationship to the homicide victim. This can include: 

• a birth certificate
• a marriage certificate
• a relationship certificate
• a death certificate
• a Medicare card
• letters from Centrelink or any other government agency 
• evidence of a de-facto relationship.

If you were in a de-facto relationship with the homicide victim, you must provide evidence that shows you were living with them when they died and had lived with them for at least 2 years to be eligible as a family victim. This can include a copy of at least one of the following documents:

• joint lease agreements
• a letter from your real estate agent which states that you were living together
• documents showing joint ownership or joint loans for major assets (for example, homes and cars)
• household bills in both names (for example, electricity, gas, internet and insurance)
• joint bank account statements showing account holder names and address 
• official correspondence showing you and the homicide victim were living at the same address (for example, bank statements, government correspondence, utility bills and mail redirect confirmations)
• car insurance policies or registration papers showing both cars garaged at the same address 
• Centrelink and Australian Taxation Office documents showing relationship and dependency through financial benefits paid or received 
• a will, life insurance policy, superannuation payment or compensation payment which shows your entitlement to a benefit as a result of the homicide victim’s death.

You may be approved the higher category of recognition payment if you can show you were financially dependent on the homicide victim when they died. You are considered financially dependent on someone if they usually pay for your accommodation, food and clothing. If you are claiming as a family member who was financially dependent on the homicide victim, you will need to provide documents showing that you relied on them for financial support.

This can include copies of one or more of the following documents:

• bank account statements showing regular or ongoing financial contributions by the homicide victim for your living costs
• a joint lease agreement or a lease agreement in the homicide victim’s name for the address where you live
• loan or ownership documents in the homicide victim’s name for the property you live in or other major assets you shared with the homicide victim
• household bills for the address where you live in the homicide victim’s name or both names (for example, electricity, gas, internet, insurance)
• Centrelink documents showing relationship and dependency on the homicide victim through financial benefits received 
• Australian Taxation Office documents showing relationship and dependency on the homicide victim through financial benefits received. 

You do not need to provide evidence of financial dependency if you are a child of the homicide victim and were under 18 years of age at the time of the violent crime.

If you are a family victim of a homicide, you can claim certain expenses that you have paid to travel to attend the homicide victim’s funeral, criminal or coronial proceedings or a justice-related meeting related to the homicide victim. This can include costs you incurred for:

• meals, snacks and incidentals at the NSW Crown Employees Meal, Travelling and Other Allowances rate
• use of your own vehicle at the NSW Crown Employees Meal, Travelling and Other Allowances business rate, calculated based on the distance travelled from your starting point
• parking, public transport, taxi and rideshare
• accommodation (if you had to travel a long distance) at the NSW Crown Employees Meal, Travelling and Other Allowances rate
• flights
• rental car hire. 

To claim travel expenses incurred as a direct result of the homicide victim’s death, use the Family Victims Travel Expense Claim form. You need to provide supporting documentation for each expense with your completed claim form, such as parking receipts, accommodation booking confirmations, flight itineraries, rental car hire agreements, taxi or ride share receipts. 

You can submit this form with an Application for Support for a Family Member of a Homicide Victim, and can also use it to claim financial assistance for travel expenses incurred in relation to the homicide victim’s death for up to 5 years after the application was made, or until the maximum amount of financial assistance available has been used. 

Alternatively, you can send us an email or letter with the following information and documents:

• your name and date of birth
• Victims Services reference number
• details of your travel to and from the funeral, criminal or coronial proceeding or justice-related meeting, including:
  • reason for travel
  • dates and times of travel (to and from the event)
  • travel addresses (where you’re travelling to and from)
  • mode of travel
• evidence of travel and accommodation expenses, such as itemised tax invoices, parking receipts, travel and overnight accommodation booking confirmations, flight itineraries and taxi or ride share receipts.