00:02Creating art with bright colours is helping Alicia Roberts heal from a dark time in her life.
00:09Art is my therapy.
00:11As a victim of crime, Ms Roberts has applied for the Victorian Government's Financial Assistance Scheme
00:17that covers medical costs, counselling and loss of income.
00:21She says she waited more than a year for support.
00:24Sometimes you can find yourself just constantly there every day checking the application.
00:29Anything happen yet? Anything happen yet? Because there's no communication.
00:34The online portal replaced the courts-based Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal two years ago
00:41and was promised to be easier for victims.
00:44It's made it worse.
00:45This community legal centre says some applications are left pending for 15 months.
00:51It can be really traumatising for victim survivors having to wait for support.
00:56The Victims of Crime Commissioner has raised these concerns with the Government,
01:00telling the ABC support systems for victims should not become another source of distress
01:06and delays can have serious consequences.
01:10The scheme's CEO and State Government both point to changes they say have streamlined the portal
01:15an application process for victims.
01:18They say they'll continue to look for improvements.
01:21Changes that can't come soon enough for those left waiting.
