Historical or past sexual assault

I was assaulted a while ago – can I still talk to police?

Victim-survivors don’t always want to report to police straight away. This can be for many reasons, but it is important to remember that what happened to you is not your fault and you are not to blame.

It does not matter how long ago it happened, if you would like to report it or talk to police, you can. It may have happened 6 months ago, or it may have happened 10 or more years ago. These are called historical investigations.

Police may ask why you are reporting this now – we ask you this to find out more information about your life, not because we do not believe you.

You do not need to have DNA evidence for the police to investigate a sexual assault. You can still report what happened to you even if it was too long ago to have any physical evidence. The police will gather all the information they can to investigate the offender.

You can still tell police what happened to you if you think, or know, the offender is deceased. However, matters where the offender is deceased are unable to go through the court process and therefore should be reported through Alternative Reporting Options (ARO). 

If you would like the police to investigate what happened to you, you can report it online using the online sexual assault report form or call Policelink on 131 444.

If you:

• Do not want the police to investigate what happened to you
• Would like to remain anonymous, or
• Do not want the possibility of going to court

You can find more information on our Alternative Reporting Options page.