Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 2016

The commissioner must decide an application for financial assistance as soon as reasonably practicable after—

the day the commissioner receives the application; or

if the commissioner asks for information under division 3.5 (Commissioner may ask for information when deciding applications for financial assistance)—the day the information is given to the commissioner.

If an application for financial assistance includes a claim for an immediate need payment, the commissioner must give priority to a decision about the claim (the expedited decision) before deciding any other claim in the application.