PACT educates, empowers and supports child victims and vulnerable witnesses of any age, helping them understand the legal system and being by their side as they give their best evidence.
Our end goal is to ensure every child in Australia is supported through the stressful process of giving evidence, empowered throughout their justice journey.
Here's how we help:
This is how we make an imPACT:
Child victims and their families are better prepared
Children and their families have a better understanding of what to expect throughout the court process and when they give evidence in court.
Increased quality of evidence
Children are able to give better evidence because of the preparation and support received before and during their testimony.
Better preparation to give evidence
Young witnesses concentrate more and stay focussed when preparing their evidence with PACT’s impartial support, without influence or pressure from other parties.
Reduced workload for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP)
Time spent on victim liaison, support and education is reduced, allowing them to focus on legal case preparation and appearing in court.
Reduced workload for police services
The time police officers spend on victim liaison and general support work is reduced, providing more time for crime investigation and prevention activities.
Reduced delays in court proceedings
PACT is independent and endorsed by the courts so objections to our involvement are very rare, resulting in a smoother process.
Increased number of prosecutions
Evidence is considered more reliable as the support offered to children helps to maintain their composure during testimony and increases their willingness to give evidence.
Better support through the long court journey
The court process can be long and unpredictable, often taking up to 2 years. PACT is there every step of the way.
To date, we've supported more than 28,000 children to give evidence in the Criminal Justice System
Learn more about PACT:
“I want to share my gratitude and say how much PACT has supported us all. I know at times it hasn’t been easy as I have been so angry this happened to my daughter. I am sorry if it has been a lot to deal with but I am sincerely grateful for PACT’s work with our family.”
“In supporting children through the court process, PACT is an organisation which provides an invaluable service to the delivery of justice in Queensland.”
“My son attended court recently as a witness. We have been discussing the whole process and he keeps coming back to what a wonderful support and awesome person his PACT Support Person is. He even stated ‘I wish she was my aunty, I’d hang out with her’. That’s huge considering he’s a teenage boy and at the stage where his friends are the only beings who exist in his world. PACT made the whole process a lot less traumatic. Thank you will never be enough.”
