Victims can nominate someone to assist them with their application. This is known as an Authorised Representative.
All Authorised Representatives must:
- be at least 18 years old, and
- not have any past or pending criminal convictions or prosecutions for dishonesty offences or family violence offences that involve the victim.
An Authorised Representative is someone who:
- has been given authority to apply to and engage with the FAS on behalf of a victim, such as a lawyer or other person trusted by the victim, or
- a person who already has legal authority to act for the victim, including parents of children or administrators appointed under the Guardian and Administration Act 2019.
A parent or guardian can also provide consent for another adult to be the Authorised Representative for their child.
All Authorised Representatives must:
- be willing and able to make the application for assistance and to receive communications on behalf of the victim, and
- advise the FAS immediately if the terms or nature of their appointment changes in any way (such as if a client instructs their lawyer to cease to act or if the terms of a court order are amended).
All Authorised Representatives can:
- apply to the FAS on behalf of a victim
- view, edit and withdraw a draft application on behalf of a victim
- provide documents or information in support of an application
- respond to enquiries and communication from the FAS on behalf of a victim, and
- withdraw from being the Authorised Representative without the victim’s consent.
Authorised Representatives cannot:
- receive the victim's payment (all payments must be made to the victim’s bank account unless payment is made directly to service providers, to legally appointed representatives managing finances such as State Trustees or to a parent or guardian in relation to a child), or
- make changes on the application regarding the Authorised Representative arrangements (unless withdrawing themselves or updating their contact details).
If a parent of a child victim applies on their behalf as Authorised Representative and the child victim turns 18 while the application is still underway, the victim can choose whether to keep the previous arrangements and allow their parent to progress their application as Authorised Representative or withdraw their consent and proceed to represent themselves.
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