Compo cop out

He’s now free and has found a job, but he's trying to weasel his way out of paying his victim the compensation she deserves.

Statement from New South Wales Attorney-General Mark Speakman

The sentences imposed upon offenders are their primary punishment but they should also pay as much as they can help their victims recover.

That’s why the Commissioner of Victims’ Rights has the power to order restitution payments against offenders to recover the costs of support to victims.

NCAT allows discounts on restitution payments for some offenders usually because they don’t have the capacity to pay the amount of the original order.

However, the NSW Government consistently argues before NCAT that offenders pay the maximum amount possible.

Additionally, since May 2017 and following a successful trial, the government has revolutionised the collection of restitution from offenders with the help of Revenue NSW.

By treating such orders in the same way as fines, the amount recovered from offenders has risen from between $3.8 million and $4.9 million annually in the financial years 2012-17 to more than $9 million so far this financial year (to the end of April 2018).

NCAT discounts rightly have no impact on the support available to victims, because such payments are made before, and regardless of, restitution proceedings.