E-Petition

The Petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that while Queensland provides victim support services, inconsistencies remain in how and when families receive support following serious incidents. These inconsistencies include:

• lack of automatic referral to support services;
• fragmented communication across agencies;
• absence of clear and consistent timeframes for updates; and
• reliance on families to self-navigate support systems during crisis periods.

Additionally, families of long-term missing persons often experience reduced communication and limited access to structured, ongoing support. Variations in access to long-term, trauma-informed mental health support further contributes to unequal outcomes for families across cases.

Consider implementing minimum standards for:

• automatic referral to support services within a defined timeframe;
• assignment of a single point of contact for families;
• consistent communication timeframes;
• structured, ongoing support for long-term missing persons cases;
• consistent and accessible long-term mental health support for affected families; and
• advocate for the development of nationally consistent victim support standards across Australian jurisdictions.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to review current victim support frameworks within Queensland, including services delivered through Victim Assist Queensland, to assess consistency, accessibility, and effectiveness.