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PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 2003
Act No.
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Clause Page
1. Purpose 1
2. Commencement 2
3. Principal Act 2
4. Evidence of deemed injury 3
5. Interim awards 3
6. Determination without hearing 3
7. Guidelines 4
8. Assignment of rights to the State 4
9. Victims of childhood sexual assault 5
10. New section 78 inserted 8
78. Transitional provisions (2003 Amending Act) 8
ENDNOTES 9
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PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
Initiated in Assembly 29 April 2003
A BILL
to make miscellaneous amendments to the Victims of Crime
Assistance Act 1996 and for other purposes.
Victims of Crime Assistance
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003
The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
1. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to amend the Victims
of Crime Assistance Act 1996 so as to--
(a) remove restrictions on the making of interim
5 awards and enable some to be made at
registrar level;
(b) widen the circumstances in which childhood
victims of sexual assault may be awarded
special financial assistance;
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2003
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Act No.
(c) enable the Tribunal to determine a matter
without a hearing with the consent of the
applicant or if it relates to the making of an
interim award;
5 (d) empower the Chief Magistrate to issue
guidelines on non-procedural matters;
(e) provide, in certain circumstances, for
primary and secondary victims to be treated
as suffering an injury on psychological
10 evidence;
(f) make possible the assignment to the State by
a person of their right to sue for damages or
compensation after an award of assistance is
made to them.
15 2. Commencement
(1) This Act (except sections 5(1) and 5(2)) comes
into operation on the day after the day on which it
receives the Royal Assent.
(2) Subject to sub-section (3), sections 5(1) and 5(2)
20 come into operation on a day to be proclaimed.
(3) If sections 5(1) and 5(2) do not come into
operation before 1 January 2004, they come into
operation on that day.
3. Principal Act
25 See:
In this Act, the Victims of Crime Assistance Act Act No.
1996 is called the Principal Act. 81/1996.
Reprint No. 2
as at
1 January
2001 and
amending
Act Nos
11/2001 and
27/2001.
LawToday:
www.dms.
dpc.vic.
gov.au
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Act No.
4. Evidence of deemed injury
In section 3(2) of the Principal Act, after
"medical" insert "or psychological".
5. Interim awards
5 (1) In section 24(1)(a) of the Principal Act, before
"the power" insert "subject to sub-section (1A),".
(2) After section 24(1) of the Principal Act insert--
"(1A) The power to hear an application for
assistance to the extent necessary to enable
10 the making of a decision to make, or not to
make, an interim award of assistance (not
exceeding the prescribed amount) may be
delegated under sub-section (1).".
(3) Sections 56(2) and 56(2A) of the Principal Act are
15 repealed.
(4) In section 56(3) of the Principal Act, for "the
amount of the interim award becomes" substitute
"on dismissing the application the Tribunal may
order that the amount of the interim award is".
20 6. Determination without hearing
For section 33(1) of the Principal Act
substitute--
"(1) The Tribunal may determine an application,
or make a decision in relation to an
25 application, without conducting a hearing
if--
(a) the applicant has stated in the
application a wish for the Tribunal to
do so; or
30 (b) the applicant consents in writing to the
Tribunal doing so at any time after the
application is lodged with, or posted to,
a registrar of the Tribunal; or
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(c) the application is for, or the decision is
in relation to, the making of an interim
award of assistance unless the Tribunal
considers that, in the particular
5 circumstances, a hearing is necessary or
desirable.".
7. Guidelines
(1) After section 45(1) of the Principal Act insert--
"(1A) The Chief Magistrate may issue guidelines
10 that the Tribunal may take into account as
to--
(a) the matters that may be considered in
determining whether expenses of a
specified kind are reasonable; and
15 (b) any other matter related to the
determination of an application--
being guidelines that apply generally or to a
specified class or classes of matter.
(1B) Guidelines issued under sub-section (1A)
20 may be expressed as applying in relation to
an application--
(a) made after the issuing of the guidelines;
or
(b) being determined after the issuing of
25 the guidelines irrespective of when
made.".
(2) In section 45(2) of the Principal Act, after "(1)"
insert "or (1A)".
8. Assignment of rights to the State
30 In section 51(1) of the Principal Act, for "before"
substitute "after".
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9. Victims of childhood sexual assault
(1) Insert the following heading to section 77 of the
Principal Act--
"Transitional provisions (2000 and 2003
5 Amending Acts)".
(2) In section 77(3)(d) of the Principal Act, for
"process; and" substitute--
"process; or
(iii) at any time before 1 July 2000 if a person
10 has been (on or after 1 July 1997) charged
with a relevant offence of a kind referred to
in paragraph (a) committed against the
applicant and--
(A) the charge is heard and determined
15 summarily, irrespective of the outcome
of the proceeding; or
(B) the person charged dies without the
charge having been determined; and".
(3) In section 77(3)(f) of the Principal Act, after "(4)"
20 insert "or (4A)".
(4) After section 77(4) of the Principal Act insert--
"(4A) For the purposes of sub-section (3), where
sub-section (3)(d)(iii) applies, an application
may be made at any time within 2 years
25 after--
(a) the commencement of section 9 of the
Victims of Crime Assistance
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003; or
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(b) the date on which the charge is heard
and determined summarily or the date
of death of the person charged (as the
case requires)--
5 whichever is the later.
(4B) Despite anything to the contrary in
section 29, an application made in
accordance with sub-section (4A) is not
made out of time within the meaning of that
10 section despite it not being made within
2 years after the occurrence of the act of
violence.".
(5) In section 77(5) of the Principal Act, for "and (4)"
substitute ", (4) and (4A)".
15 (6) After section 77(6) of the Principal Act insert--
"(6A) If--
(a) an application is made under this Act
before the commencement of section 9
of the Victims of Crime Assistance
20 (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003 (the 2003 Act); and
(b) the application is in respect of an act of
violence to which the amendments of
this Act made by Part 2 of the Victims
25 of Crime Assistance (Amendment)
Act 2000 apply by virtue of sub-
section (3) as amended by the 2003
Act; and
(c) the application had been finally
30 determined before the commencement
referred to in paragraph (a)--
the award of assistance must, on an
application under section 60 made in
accordance with sub-section (7), be varied to
35 make it consistent with the award that would
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have been made in accordance with this Act
as amended by that Part if the application
had not been finally determined before that
commencement.".
5 (7) In section 77(7) of the Principal Act--
(a) for "sub-section (6)" substitute "sub-
sections (6) and (6A)";
(b) for "and (4)" substitute "(as amended by the
Victims of Crime Assistance
10 (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003),
(4) and (4A)".
(8) After section 77(9) of the Principal Act insert--
"(9A) Despite anything to the contrary in section
52(c), the Tribunal is not required to refuse
15 to make an award of special financial
assistance in accordance with section 8A on
an application (the later application) because
of an earlier application for assistance made
before the commencement of section 9 of the
20 Victims of Crime Assistance
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 if
the later application is made in accordance
with sub-section (4A) of this section.
(9B) If--
25 (a) an application is made under this Act
before the commencement of section 9
of the Victims of Crime Assistance
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003 (the 2003 Act); and
30 (b) the application is in respect of an act of
violence to which the amendments of
this Act made by Part 2 of the Victims
of Crime Assistance (Amendment)
Act 2000 apply by virtue of sub-
35 section (3) as amended by the 2003
Act; and
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(c) the application had not been finally
determined before the commencement
referred to in paragraph (a)--
the application may, in accordance with the
5 rules, be amended to include a claim for
special financial assistance in accordance
with section 8A and the amended application
must be dealt with and determined in
accordance with this Act as amended by
10 those Acts.".
10. New section 78 inserted
After section 77 of the Principal Act insert--
"78. Transitional provisions (2003 Amending
Act)
15 Subject to section 77, an amendment of this
Act made by a provision of the Victims of
Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 2003 applies to
proceedings in the Tribunal occurring on or
20 after the commencement of that provision
(irrespective of whether the application was
made to the Tribunal before or after that
commencement).".
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Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003
Endnotes
Act No.
ENDNOTES
By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
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