‘Revenge porn’ victims eligible for financial assistance under new bill passed in ACT

A new bill that enables victims of ‘revenge porn’ to obtain financial assistance and streamlines compensation processes for others impacted by crime has been passed into law in the ACT.

Under the ACT Government Financial Assistance Scheme, victims of certain crimes and relatives of those killed by criminal acts can apply to receive payments of up to $50,000.

However, a review into this scheme by the Australian National University found that many victims of crime faced “unacceptable” delays in obtaining assistance or were unable to do so because of rigid eligibility requirements and processes.

Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne introduced the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Amendment Bill 2024 to implement some of the recommendations made by this review.

The new legislation reduces red tape for victims applying for the scheme by simplifying eligibility criteria, notification requirements and decision-making processes.

Further safeguards will also be put in place to protect victims’ sensitive information, as part of the bill.

“The bill expands eligibility for financial assistance to victims of intimate image abuse offences,” Minister Cheyne told the Legislative Assembly (LA).

Intimate image abuse is often referred to as ‘revenge porn’ – the sharing of nude or sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent.

“It is well understood that the non-consensual sharing of intimate images can cause considerable harm to victims and the community, and it is important that victims of this type of offending can access appropriate financial support through the scheme,” Minister Cheyne said.

The bill was supported by all three political parties. However, Greens MLA Andrew Braddock criticised Labor for not going far enough and for being slow to reform the system.

“The fact it has taken three years to get some basic and urgent reforms before the Assembly should be of concern,” he told the LA.

He said several of the ANU’s recommendations had been ignored and called the legislation “modest”.

“Recommendations with an urgent imperative and being acted on piecemeal, sometimes years after the fact,” he said.

“A part of me feels … the Treasury does not wish to invest the monies required to address the reform.

“Nationwide there a lot of welfare systems set with the design of being difficult to access for fiscal reasons.

“The bill is at least somewhat heading in the right direction but it does leave unfinished business for the next Assembly.”

Minister Cheyne said she was “baffled and a bit bemused” by these comments.

“Mr Ruddock is late to the party, he has never engaged me on the bill,” she said.

She called the legislation an important piece of work that focused on the most tangible aspects of the review.

Information on applying for financial compensation for victims of crime can be found on the ACT Human Rights Commission website.