Criminal Injuries Compensation Lawyers In Perth

How long does a claim take in WA?

Plan for around a year. In 2024/25 the average time to finalise a claim across all matters was 12.3 months.

Straightforward claims move faster. OCIC closed the matters it finalised within a year in an average of 5.4 months, and it aims to finalise 80% of applications within 12 months. Complex claims take longer, usually because of ongoing treatment, a criminal prosecution still running, or another compensation avenue being resolved first.

Two things are worth knowing before you start. You almost certainly will not have to attend a hearing. Almost every claim is decided on the documents, and in 2024/25 only 10 hearings were held across more than 10,000 finalised matters. The trade-off is that the process runs largely on written correspondence, and with record volumes, reaching the office by phone can be slow.

The practical lesson from people who have been through it: get the file right before you lodge, keep copies of everything, and expect a process measured in months rather than weeks. A well-prepared claim tends to move faster, because it is not sent back for missing documents.

What can reduce or refuse your claim

We would rather tell you this up front than after you have lodged. Under the Act, an Assessor can reduce or refuse an award where:

• You did not report the offence to police within a reasonable time, or did not assist their investigation. Failing to assist investigators was a common ground for refusal in 2024/25. The OCIC won’t necessarily reject a late report, but it needs a reasonable explanation for the delay.
• Your own conduct contributed to the injury. Reductions for contributory behaviour ran from 10% to 50% last year.
• You were engaged in criminal conduct yourself connected to the incident.
• Compensation has already been recovered elsewhere, through workers’ compensation, a civil claim, insurance, or Medicare. Those amounts are deducted.

None of these is automatically fatal. But each one needs to be addressed in the application, not discovered later.

What to do after a crime, and the mistake that costs claims

Report the offence to police, see a doctor, and write down what happened, all as soon as you reasonably can. Those three steps protect a claim before you have even thought about lodging one.

The mistake we see most often is made in good faith: trying to manage an injury alone, hoping it settles without seeing a doctor. It usually does not, and the gap in the medical record is hard to fix later. A late police report and thin medical evidence are exactly the things that reduce or refuse awards, as the section above shows. So keep copies of everything: the police report number, medical notes, receipts, and any record of time off work. If you are not sure whether something matters, keep it.

Family and domestic violence claims

Nearly half of all finalised criminal injuries applications in 2024/25 involved family and domestic violence.

These claims carry specific complications. The Assessor must consider whether compensation is “likely to benefit the offender” under section 36 of the Act, which can happen where the victim and offender share finances or live together. 68 claims were refused on this ground last year. Timing also matters: if the offender knows a claim has been lodged, that can affect safety. The OCIC notifies the offender in most cases, so your lawyer needs to be aware of any risk before the application goes in.

The OCIC has expanded its outreach on FDV matters. In March 2025, Assessor Barter held 25 informal face-to-face hearings in Broome through a new pilot program with Aboriginal Family Legal Services and Kimberley Community Legal Services. All but two of the applicants in that program were Aboriginal women or their children. If you’re in a remote area and need help applying, community legal centres can assist with lodgement, and the OCIC is working to bring hearings closer to regional communities.

Soul Legal acts for victims of family and domestic violence on criminal injuries claims. We understand the safety considerations and can advise on timing, privacy, and how section 36 applies to your situation.

Do you need a lawyer?

No. You can apply yourself, there is no fee to lodge, and free help is available through Legal Aid WA and community legal centres. We think you should know that before you decide anything. Many people apply without a lawyer.

A lawyer earns their place in specific situations: complex or multi-incident matters, family and domestic violence claims, serious psychological injury that needs careful medical evidence, disputed eligibility, an undervalued or refused claim, or an appeal to the District Court. The work that moves these claims is unglamorous. It is assembling medical evidence, drafting the victim impact statement so it reflects the real harm, and chasing the file through a backed-up system. That is where experienced help tends to change the result.

One honest point: recoverable legal costs in criminal injuries matters are limited, which is exactly why a no win, no fee arrangement matters. With Soul Legal you pay no legal fees unless your claim succeeds. As a claim runs you may need to pay disbursements, such as a doctor’s fee for a medical report. Soul Legal is on the Legal Aid Panel, and where you cannot meet those costs, Legal Aid usually covers disbursements in meritorious claims.

How Soul Legal helps

Soul Legal is a Perth personal injury firm. Director Kevin Wong has practised personal injury law since 1991, and co-director Rebecca Sorgiovanni since 1997. We act for victims of crime on criminal injuries claims on a no win, no fee basis.

How we work:

• Before your first meeting, we send a secure upload link so you can share documents for us to review.
• At a free, confidential assessment, we go through the facts, tell you what is realistic, explain the steps that protect your rights, and walk you through the no win, no fee retainer with a cost estimate.
• We build the evidence: medical reports, police records, financial documents, and the victim impact statement.
• We deal with OCIC so you do not have to chase the file, and we keep you updated at each stage. If a claim is refused or undervalued, we can advise on an appeal to the District Court.
• We give you the honest range, not a guaranteed number. No one can promise an outcome under this scheme, and we will not.

You work directly with a qualified lawyer, not a case-handler. If your injuries make it hard to travel, we can meet you at home or in hospital.

We named the firm Soul Legal for a reason. We did not name it after its founders. The focus is on the person who walks through the door, so you are not just a file number.