​Victim impact statements are one means by which the contemporary concern about the rights of victims may be addressed and in a way, according to their proponents, which is consistent with established legal principles. Others claim their introduction would disrupt the balance of our adversarial criminal justice system.

The main purpose of this briefing note is to set out the arguments for and against victim impact statements and to review their implementation. It starts by presenting a few 'working definitions' of key terms and proceeds to offer an overview of the legal status of victim impact statements in NSW and other Australian jurisdictions.