How much does Victoria's Financial Assistance Scheme pay for counselling?

Rates vary by practitioner type and victim category. Check Victims of Crime Vic's published FAS Guidelines for the current fee schedule, since it's reviewed periodically.

What's the difference between a primary, related and secondary victim under Victoria's FAS?

A primary victim was directly injured by the crime; a related victim is, for example, a close family member in a homicide-affected case — both paid at the same, higher rate. A secondary victim is a witness or someone who became aware of the crime through their relationship to a primary victim, paid at a noticeably lower rate.

Does Zenvia support Victoria's Financial Assistance Scheme billing?

Zenvia can tag Victims of Crime Vic as a funder and track invoices against a client's file. Because the exact claim process depends on practitioner type and victim category, talk to us once you know how a specific claim needs to be invoiced.

Victoria's Financial Assistance Scheme

Counselling payments under Victoria's Financial Assistance Scheme

Victoria's Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) — the successor to VOCAT, the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal — pays for counselling for victims of crime, but it works differently to NSW's Victims Services scheme. Here's the mechanism, and the current fee schedule.

Written by Steve Daniel, founder of Zenvia — GAICD · MBA · Master of IT · Author, Cybersecurity for Australian Not-for-Profits · Last reviewed 1 October 2026

Not the same mechanism as NSW

A capped fee schedule, not a free-to-client scheme

Where NSW's Victims Services scheme is free to the client for approved counselling, Victoria's FAS works as reimbursement against a capped fee schedule — a ceiling per session by practitioner type, rather than an open-ended free service. The schedule also splits by victim category: a primary victim (directly injured by the crime) and a related victim (for example, a close family member in a homicide-affected case) are paid at the same, higher rate, while a secondary victim (a witness, or someone who became aware of the crime through their relationship to a primary victim) is paid at a noticeably lower rate — so the applicable fee genuinely depends on which category the client falls into, not just who's providing the counselling.

What's confirmed

Practitioner-type rates, as at 30 June 2026

For a 60-minute session, the schedule as at 30 June 2026 set, for primary and related victims: Counsellor $183, Accredited Mental Health Social Worker $200, Registered Psychologist $220. For secondary victims, the same 60-minute session is paid at a lower rate: Counsellor $126, Accredited Mental Health Social Worker $136, Registered Psychologist $148. These figures come from Victims of Crime Vic's own published FAS Guidelines, current as of this schedule date — it's reviewed periodically, so confirm the current figures and which victim category applies before quoting a client or invoicing.

How a claim actually runs

The application and payment process, step by step

A client doesn't need to have reported the crime to police or have an offender identified to apply — FAS exists specifically because many victims of crime never go down that path. In practice, the process generally runs like this:

Application: the client (or someone assisting them, which can include their counsellor) submits a FAS application to Victims of Crime Vic, which can include a request for funded counselling as part of the broader application.
Assessment: Victims of Crime Vic assesses eligibility and the category of victim (primary, related or secondary), which determines which fee tier applies to any counselling that's approved.
Approval: once approved, the client — or the counsellor on their behalf, depending on how the application was lodged — receives confirmation of the approved number of sessions and the applicable rate tier.
Delivering and invoicing: sessions are delivered and invoiced against the approved claim, citing the claim reference, the client's details, the practitioner-type and victim-category rate that applies, and the session date and duration.
Payment: Victims of Crime Vic pays the practitioner directly per the approved fee schedule — the client is not billed for approved sessions within the scheme's limits.

Because rates differ for individual vs group sessions, and for primary/related vs secondary victims, confirm which category and session type applies to a specific client before quoting or invoicing — don't assume the same rate applies across different clients, or across different sessions for the same client, without checking.

What Zenvia supports today

Invoicing, once the claim mechanics are confirmed for your case

Zenvia can tag Victims of Crime Vic as a funder and track invoices against a client's file the same way any other third-party billing works. Because the fee actually payable depends on both practitioner type and victim category, and because the exact claim/reimbursement process for a given case is something only Victims of Crime Vic can confirm, talk to us once you know how a specific claim needs to be invoiced, so we can confirm it fits.

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Want the full picture? See all our funder and practice guides. Billing a victims-of-crime scheme in another state? See Victims Services NSW. Billing another funder entirely? See Medicare, NDIS, EAP, workers compensation, DVA and Open Arms, or private health fund rebates. Not sure which registration you need? See PACFA vs ACA vs AHPRA.