Judge Thomas Wodak ordered that the money be paid by her attacker, William Craig Forde, who was jailed for at least 17 years in December 2006.

But Jessica may not see any money from Forde - she is competing for it with Legal Aid, which is trying to recoup costs it incurred representing the man who raped her 11 times.

Forde owns a 0.2ha block of land in Moorookyle St, Smeaton.

Legal Aid's claim on his land provides Jessica and her lawyer, Katalin Blond, of the firm Slater & Gordon, with a major obstacle.

Ms Blond has already written to the managing director of Legal Aid, Tony Parsons, asking whether the Legal Aid claim could be lifted given Jessica's exceptional circumstances.

"If there were no other restrictions on the property we would then just go about the sale of the property effectively," Ms Blond said.

"But we need to work out firstly, does the Victoria Legal Aid claim take precendence over Jess's and in the event that it does, would they be prepared to waive any entitlement they may have on the basis that Jess's is an exceptional case?"

Mr Parsons' response was that while sympathetic to Jessica's plight, he was duty-bound to pursue Forde for the money.

"As managing director of Victoria Legal Aid I have a statutory duty to protect the Legal Aid fund. As such, if it is possible to recover funds expended on the provision of Legal Aid, I am obliged to recover those monies and restore them to the Legal Aid fund.

Mr Parsons said Forde's legal bill at this stage was about $19,000.

The block of land has been estimated to be worth between $20,000 and $50,000.

Ms Blond might take the matter further.

"What we think we need to do is appeal to higher authorities, the relevant government minister, to say, just to point out, and I don't think there's any dispute from all sides, that Jessica's case is exceptional," she said.

"My experience in acting for other survivors of violent crime is that it's an absolute rarity to find a circumstance where the defendant has assets, so it's hardly going to open the floodgates."

However, Victorian Attorney General Rob Hulls said it was a matter for Legal Aid.

"Primary victims of crime are currently entitled to up to $70,000 financial assistance from the State Government through the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal," he said.

"It is a matter for Legal Aid to ensure the assets of the perpetrator are liquidated and then distributed appropriately."