Police instructions for dealing with sexual assault victims are to be shaken up next year after criticism of the complex rules.

The initial interview is to be made simpler and police will no longer have to cover a complete range of subjects in that first meeting, RTL news says.

In particular, victims were angry that they were being told to wait for several days before making a formal police complaint.

The waiting period hit the headlines when journalist Rosa Timmer went public after being told by the police she would have to wait for two weeks before she could make a complaint about being sexually assaulted in a café.

From now on, police will discuss reasons why victims may want to delay making a claim personally and they will be allowed to make a complaint immediately if they want to, spokesman Yet van Mastrigt told RTL news.