Three Melbourne men who pleaded guilty to gang raping a 17-year-old backpacker in Croatia but avoided a trial by paying $30,000 have sparked fierce debate about making financial settlements with victims of sexual assault.

Fairfax Media can reveal that Dylan Djohan, 23, Ashwin Kumar, 23, and Waleed Latif, 21, all from Melbourne, were handed a one-year prison sentence, which was then immediately commuted to a five-year good behaviour bond.

Under a deal between Croatian prosecutors and their defence lawyers, the young men were required to pay the Norwegian girl €20,000 (about $31,500).

The rape happened in July 2015 at a late-night bar in the resort town of Split on Croatia's Adriatic Coast.