An assault victim has lost a bid for taxpayer-funded compensation so she could receive “spiritual healing" in Canada, capping off a three-year legal wrangle.

The Queensland government had previously been ordered to foot the bill, which included more than $20,000 for the treatment program and airfares for the woman, who also planned to take a companion.

Victims Assist Queensland – a taxpayer-funded compensation scheme for victims of crime who receive up to $75,000 – filed an appeal and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie supported the legal action.

In a decision published late Wednesday, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal endorsed Victims Assist Queensland's decision to knock back the claim.

The application for compensation was triggered by a 2007 assault on the woman when she was enlisted by an Aboriginal clan to negotiate a native title compensation claim.