Our Team

Acting Victims of Crime Commissioner

Head shot of Margie Rowe

Hello. My name is Margie Rowe and I am the Acting Victims of Crime Commissioner for the ACT. I also oversee the day-to-day functioning of Victim Support ACT, including the Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme.

My role is to promote and protect the rights of people who experience crime and to ensure they can access the support they need. My advocacy and education role includes:

advocating for individuals who experience crime
advocating for reforms to the justice system
consulting with victims of crime and promoting reforms to meet their needs; and
advising the ACT Government on matters in relation to victims of crime in the ACT.

I work with a range of stakeholders, including the ACT Government, justice agencies and community members, on boards and committees to ensure victims' rights and interests are upheld. This includes:

Family Violence Intervention Program
Sexual Assault (Police) Review Oversight Committee
Victims Advisory Board
National Victims of Crime Working Group
Liquor Advisory Board.

It is my job to work with the criminal justice system to ensure that people who experience crime are treated in accordance with the Charter of Rights for Victims of Crime (the charter). I do this by:

Trying to resolve concerns that victims of crime raise with me about their treatment by police, prosecutions, the courts or corrective services; and
Referring complaints about non-compliance with the charter to the appropriate complaints entity.

If you think we can help you or you would like to know more, contact us.

The Victims of Crime Commissioner is an independent statutory office, which means that we are funded by the ACT Government, but independent from the Government. The Legislation that describes what I do includes:

Volunteer with Us

Victim Support ACT engages community volunteers to deliver the VSACT Volunteer Program and Court Support.

The volunteers will be assessed for suitability and assigned to roles that suit. The majority of volunteers with VSACT provide company and basic information to victims of crime in the ACT Courts. Other duties that volunteers assist with include:

Orienting victims to the court and surrounds
Attending meetings with the victim and the prosecutor
Attending the police station with a victim to report a crime
Assisting a victim to prepare an application to the Financial Assistance Scheme
Assisting a victim to prepare a victim impact statement
Providing research and administrative support to the VOCC and VSACT teams.

Court support volunteers are provided with several days of training and peer to peer supervision prior to providing one-on-one support to victims.

Training and recruitment usually happens once per year. You can register your interest for the volunteer program by sending an email to: VSACT.VolunteerProgram@act.gov.au