The Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT) has been replaced by the Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). FAS is now responsible for financial assistance for all victims of crime in Victoria. Any applications for payment of authorised future expense previously authorised by VOCAT will now be actioned by the FAS.
The purpose of this Practice Direction is to specify the procedure to be followed when a request is made under section 42A of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 to access information about an application for assistance; and/or documents contained on a Tribunal file. This Practice Direction introduces separate processes for requests which do not relate to Tribunal proceeding or relate to finalised applications.