In this article victim contact work undertaken by the New Zealand probation service will be reviewed. Victim contact work involves probation staff in making enquiries for reparation and emotional harm reports at the pre-sentence stage; for home detention reports; and for mediation meetings between victims and offenders. This piece will outline the New Zealand context for victim contact work and discuss a research study that explored the views of victims and probation staff as to the usefulness of such work. The key finding was that victim contact work was viewed as important by victims but was viewed as marginal to the overall work of the probation service