Payments

Once the notice of decision has been made, you will receive a copy of the notice.

The FAS may require a receipt or proof of an invoice paid before it can provide a notification of payment and transfer funds.

Payments are made in full, unless an instalment plan has been agreed on.

If you need to update your bank details, visit the ‘My profile’ page in the FAS portal.

Who can receive payments

The applicant

If you provide proof that you have already paid an invoice, FAS will reimburse you directly. Receipts and invoices (and other supporting material) must be submitted within 10 years of the assistance decision.

Service provider

FAS can also pay the service provider directly if provided with an invoice which is Australian Taxation Office compliant and includes the service provider's bank account details.

Funds in Court

In some circumstances, FAS will pay assistance to victims under 18 years of age, or adult victims living under a legal disability, to Funds in Court.

This means the funds will be held in trust by the Master of the Supreme Court. This could include holding the funds in trust until the victim turns 18.

See our legal guidelines for more information on payments to Funds in Court.

Another nominated person

Victims may nominate another person, such as a legal guardian or carer, to receive payment on their behalf.

For applicants with a legal disability who don’t have a legal guardian or administrator (and applicants under the age of 18), payments may be made to Funds in Court.

For those under administration or guardianship orders, payment is usually made to the victim's bank account administered by their administrator/guardian. FAS will advise the nominated person and confirm the bank details to make payment. The funds will be paid by FAS to the confirmed bank account via electronic funds transfer.

For scenarios not covered above, the default recipient of any payment from the FAS would be the victim who applied.

Repayments

FAS may require assistance to be repaid in limited circumstances, such as:

• if FAS pays a victim interim assistance but later refuses their application for assistance, FAS could require a victim to repay the interim assistance
• if a victim receives a payment from another scheme, and the FAS has already paid the victim for the same type of assistance, FAS may require repayment of any assistance already by the FAS for that same assistance type
• if a victim receives a reduced payment from a variation or internal review, FAS may require a victim to repay the difference between the original amount paid and the new awarded amount.

Repayment process

Before repayment is required, applicants will be notified in writing that FAS is considering whether repayment is needed, including a request for any further information or evidence about the situation.

FAS will then consider any information provided by the applicant or representative and decide whether repayment is needed.

If repayment is needed, applicants will be notified in writing of:

• the amount to be repaid
• the reasons for requiring repayment
• when the payment is due
• how the payment can be made.

A victim can apply for internal review of a decision to require repayment.