Submission to the Queensland Review of Charter of Victims’ Rights

Project team: Chantelle Langdon and Isabel Dunn

Project contact: Chantelle Langdon, chantelle.langdon@monash.edu

About this project

This submission was prepared in response to the Queensland Victims’ Commissioner’s review of the Charter of Victims Rights Main paper - Let’s talk victims’ rights document. It draws on research relating to the system-level responses in cases of domestic and family violence (DFV).

There are currently constraints on agencies in securing safe, long-term accommodation for victim-survivors amidst the current rental and cost of living crisis. This raises particular concerns about whether agencies are able to uphold their obligations under the Charter. Given the complex intersections between DFV and housing precarity, the authors argue that making government and non-government housing agencies obligated under the Charter of Victims Rights, alongside DFV services, would strengthen the consistency, accountability, and effectiveness of the service system.

Clear obligations across services would support a coordinated response, enabling agencies to better understand their roles and responsibilities in supporting victim-survivors through their recovery and engagement with the justice system. However, these obligations must be accompanied by adequate funding and resourcing to ensure that services are able to meaningfully uphold the rights outlined in the Charter. Doing so would help ensure that victim-survivors receive trauma-informed housing support that enables their safety, healing, and continued participation in justice processes.

Research outputs

The authors have prepared a submission to the review of the Queensland Charter of Victims Rights, which will be considered by the Victims’ Commissioner and used to inform a final report to be submitted to the Queensland Government for review. The final report is expected to be published in December 2026.

This submission can be accessed here.