The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) has a dedicated pathway that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of violent crime can choose to use, known as the Marra Yattakunar Pathway. Marra Yattakunar means 'community helpers' in Woiwurrung language.
The Marra Yattakunar Pathway has specialist workers in the Marra Yattakunar Team you can ask to speak with about your application.
The FAS does not require applicants who identify to provide a Certificate of Aboriginality.
The Marra Yattakunar Pathway is not a separate application process.
You must submit your application via the online portal.
You can opt in and out of the Marra Yattakunar Pathway at any time. All FAS applicants will have a culturally safe experience with any of our support services. This is ensured by the Victims of Crime Act 2022.
Marra Yattakunar Team
As an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you may wish to call the Marra Yattakunar Team. The Marra Yattakunar Team is a team within the FAS dedicated to working with Aboriginal victims of crime. The team is trained on best practices for working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The team includes staff who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and people who have experience with Aboriginal Communities and demonstrating culturally safe practice.
The Marra Yattakunar Team can:
- help you to access other support services that you may be more comfortable with, including Aboriginal-centric services
- talk to you about the process and help you make an application
- help you make a cultural support plan to ensure your recovery needs are understood and considered in the process and outcome
- refer you to other culturally safe services for support, if you need it.
Contact the Marra Yattakunar Team
Call 1800 849 778
Open 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, except public holidays.
Submit an online enquiry
Please state in your online enquiry that you'd like the Marra Yattakunar Team to respond.
Cultural safety
The FAS aims to promote cultural safety for all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, which includes acknowledging:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as descendants of Australia's First Peoples
- that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system in a way that has contributed to criminalisation, disconnection, intergenerational trauma and entrenched social disadvantage
- that victims of violent acts who are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent have cultural rights and familial and Aboriginal community connections relevant to financial assistance provided by the FAS.
See our commitment statement:
Safe and accessible service
The FAS aims to provide a safe and accessible service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This is done in a wide range of ways such as:
- working together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the option to engage with the Marra Yattakunar Team to assist throughout the application process, and develop a cultural support plan
- building and maintaining a culturally competent and diverse workforce
- providing ongoing cultural safety training for staff and supporting a workforce culture of learning and growth.
Non-Aboriginal family members
If you have a family member who is not Aboriginal, but has also applied to the FAS, we will do our best to ensure the whole family is assessed together.
Cultural support plans
A cultural support plan (CSP) can provide the FAS with information about a your cultural connection and guide how the FAS engages with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people when they apply to the FAS.
CSPs can also provide information to support your application, such as how assistance for specific activities can nurture connections with culture, family and community and support recovery.
We are committed to informing applicants or authorised representatives about the purpose and function of CSPs in the application process.
You can add or remove a CSP at any time during the application process. They are not required as part of a successful application.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people applying to the FAS can provide an existing CSP if you have one, or use one of the templates provided:
Please note: if the FAS has a completed CSP and we use it as part of the assessment, the FAS are required store this document for 10 years from the date it was provided. If you have any concerns about this, please contact us.
Online course: Cultural support plans
Follow our step-by-step online course to see how to submit and change a CSP as part of your FAS application.
Further assistance
You may also choose to get assistance from an Aboriginal legal service provider to assist you to apply to the FAS.
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service: call 1800 064 865
- Djirra support and legal services: call 1800 105 303.
You can also contact the Victims Legal Service Helpline and be provided with a referral by calling 1800 531 566 from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
You may also wish to contact the Victims of Crime Helpline, which provides information, support and referrals to assist people to manage the effects of crime. The Victims of Crime Helpline is open 8 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Call 1800 819 817 or text 0427 767 891.
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