Legal Aid NSW announces expanded legal support for sexual-assault survivors
A statewide service is intended to help survivors understand their rights and navigate investigations, prosecutions and requests for private records. The start date of the expanded model has not been established.
Legal Aid NSW is set to expand specialist legal support for sexual-assault survivors across New South Wales, according to an announcement reported by the Guardian on 27 September. The Sexual Assault Survivors’ Legal Service is intended to help people understand their rights as they navigate police investigations, prosecutions and related legal matters. The available information does not establish when the expanded model began operating.
The Guardian reported that the expansion is worth $1.74 million and will provide free legal support, including advice about the criminal process, survivors’ rights during investigations and prosecutions, and access to victims’ compensation. Robyn Gilbert, the Legal Aid NSW senior solicitor expected to lead the service, told the newspaper it would be open to callers throughout the state. She said the eligibility criterion was having experienced sexual assault.
What the service offers
Legal Aid NSW describes the service as specialist advice for survivors seeking to understand their rights and options in the criminal justice system and related areas of law. Its published service page says lawyers can explain what to expect from reporting an assault to police through investigation and prosecution. They can also advise on legal protections, rights under the Charter of Victims Rights and applications for victims support, including counselling, financial assistance and recognition payments.
The service’s remit extends to privacy questions involving medical and counselling records, mobile phones, diaries and other personal information. Legal Aid NSW says its lawyers can advise on related family law, child protection and apprehended violence order matters. Where the service cannot help, it says it will refer people to other legal and support services.
The service incorporates the existing Sexual Assault Communications Privilege Service. Legal Aid NSW says it may represent survivors in some circumstances when counselling records, phones or other sensitive material are subpoenaed. It also advises health organisations and professionals that receive subpoenas for material that may be protected. Whether representation is available depends on the circumstances; the service page does not present it as an automatic part of every case.
Legal Aid NSW lists a telephone number, 02 9219 5888, as well as email and a referral form for people seeking advice. Its page says people needing an interpreter can contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask to be connected to the legal service. The page describes the service as statewide but gives no publication date or start date for the newly expanded model.
Why survivors sought more support
Shannon Stokes, 28, told the Guardian that prosecuting her former boyfriend for sexual assault and domestic violence offences took two years and 11 days. The newspaper reported that prosecutors secured convictions on nine of 11 charges and that he was later sentenced to five years in prison. Stokes described feeling isolated while trying to understand a legal system she said was unfamiliar to her.
Stokes said the length of the proceedings and the assistance available to her added to her distress. She recalled receiving pamphlets before the trial and papers on the day she went to court, while still struggling to understand the process. Her account describes her own experience; it does not establish how the expanded service will work for future callers.
Sarah Rosenberg, executive director of the victim-led network With You We Can, told the Guardian that survivors can be left to navigate a complex system alone. She said the adversarial process can cause further trauma. Gilbert said the legal service aims to give survivors more information about their rights and role in proceedings, and more choice in decisions affecting them.
Funding and open questions
The announced expansion follows earlier government funding for sexual-violence justice services. In March, the NSW government announced a $5 million package that included $1.7 million to increase Legal Aid NSW’s capacity. The government said that allocation would provide additional specialist advice, including for people considering whether to make a criminal complaint. The March figure and the Guardian’s $1.74 million figure come from different announcements and are reported here as each source stated them.
The March package also allocated $1.55 million to a two-year pilot placing community justice-system navigators in up to five NSW locations, and $1.35 million for specialist navigators at up to four court advocacy and police co-location sites. Those navigator projects are separate components of the package, aimed at helping survivors understand their options and move through the justice system.
The NSW government said its package was funded through an agreement with the Commonwealth and informed by research from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2025 report on justice responses to sexual violence. The expansion’s effect on survivors has yet to be measured. The reviewed accounts also do not establish its capacity or how many people have sought help under the expanded model.
Sources and context
- Shannon felt a ‘sense of doom’ as she sought justice for sexual assault. A new NSW program hopes to alleviate thatThe Guardian
- Sexual Assault Survivors’ Legal ServiceLegal Aid NSW
- $5 million to improve outcomes for sexual violence victim-survivorsNSW Government
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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