Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 - SECT 3

Definitions

3. Definitions



(1) In this Act-

act of violence means a criminal act or a series of related criminal acts,
whether committed by one or more persons, that has-

   (a)  occurred in Victoria; and

   (b)  directly resulted in injury or death to one or more persons,
        irrespective of where the injury or death occurs;

close family member, in relation to a deceased primary victim of an act of
violence, means a person who had a genuine personal relationship with the
victim at the time of the victim's death and who is-

   (a)  the spouse of the victim; or

   (b)  a parent, guardian or step-parent of the victim; or

   (c)  a child or step-child of the victim or some other child of whom the
        victim is the guardian; or

   (d)  a brother, sister, step-brother or step-sister of the victim;

criminal act means an act or omission constituting a relevant offence or that
would constitute a relevant offence if the person had not been incapable of
being criminally responsible for it on account of-

   (a)  age, mental impairment or other legal incapacity preventing him or her
        from having a required fault element; or

   (b)  the existence of any other lawful defence;

dependant, in relation to a deceased primary victim of an act of violence,
means-

   (a)  an individual who was wholly or substantially dependent on the
        victim's income at the time of the victim's death or who would have
        been but for the incapacity of the victim due to the injury from which
        he or she died; or

   (b)  a child of the victim born after the victim's death who would have
        been a dependant of the victim under paragraph (a) if he or she had
        been born before the victim's death; domestic partner of a person
        means-

   (a)  a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or

   (b)  an adult person to whom the person is not married but with whom the
        person is in a relationship as a couple where one or each of them
        provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic
        nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their
        genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but
        does not include a person who provides domestic support and personal
        care to the person-

   (i)  for fee or reward; or

   (ii) on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government
        or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent
        organisation);

guardian, in relation to a victim or applicant, (except in section 25(3) and
(4)) does not include the Secretary within the meaning of the
Children, Youth and Families Act 2005, a guardian appointed or taking over
office as guardian under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 or any
other government agency;

injury means-

   (a)  actual physical bodily harm; or

   (b)  mental illness or disorder or an exacerbation of a mental illness or
        disorder, whether or not flowing from nervous shock; or

   (c)  pregnancy; or

   (d)  any combination of matters referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)
        arising from an act of violence- but does not include injury arising
        from loss of or damage to property; legal practitioner means an
        Australian legal practitioner within the meaning of the
        Legal Profession Act 2004;



medical expenses includes dental, optometry, physiotherapy, psychology
treatment, hospital and ambulance expenses;

medical report means a written statement made by a medical expert on medical
matters and includes any document which the medical expert intends should be
read with the statement;

member, in relation to the Tribunal, means the magistrate or acting magistrate
constituting the Tribunal;

parent of a child, means-

   (a)  a biological parent of the child;

   (b)  a step-parent of the child;

   (c)  an adoptive parent of the child;

   (d)  a foster parent of the child;

   (e)  a guardian of the child;

   (f)  a person who has responsibility for the care, welfare and development
        of the child; person under disability means-

   (a)  a minor; or

   (b)  a person who is incapable by reason of injury, disease, senility,
        illness or physical or mental infirmity of managing his or her affairs
        in relation to the proceeding;

practice directions means practice directions, statements or notes issued
under section 58(1);

registrar, in relation to the Tribunal, includes the principal registrar of
the Tribunal;

relevant offence means-

   (a)  an offence, punishable on conviction by imprisonment, that involves an
        assault on, or injury or a threat of injury to, a person; or

   (b)  an offence against Subdivision (8A), (8B), (8C), (8D) or (8E) of
        Division 1 of Part I of the Crimes Act 1958 or any corresponding
        previous enactment (sexual offences) or an offence at common law of
        rape or assault with intent to rape; or

   (c)  an offence against section 21A(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (stalking),
        section 63 of that Act (child stealing) or section 63A of that Act
        (kidnapping) or any corresponding previous enactment; or

   (d)  an offence of conspiracy to commit, incitement to commit or attempting
        to commit an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

significant adverse effect, in relation to a victim of an act of violence,
includes any grief, distress, trauma or injury experienced or suffered by the
victim as a direct result of the act of violence but does not include any loss
of, or damage to, property;

spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;



the rules means rules of the Tribunal jointly made by the Chief Magistrate
together with 2 or more Deputy Chief Magistrates;

Tribunal means Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal established by Part 3;

victim means primary victim, secondary victim or related victim of an act of
violence, as the case requires.

(2) Notwithstanding the definition of injury in subsection (1), if, in respect
of an application under this Act by a primary victim or a secondary victim,
the Tribunal is satisfied on medical or psychological evidence that treatment
or counselling is required as a result of trauma associated with an act of
violence, the person concerned is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be
suffering an injury.

(3) For the purposes of section 8A-

   (a)  references in this Act to a primary victim must be construed as
        including a reference to a person who is a primary victim by virtue of
        section 8A(1); and

   (b)  references in this Act (including the definition of significant
        adverse effect in subsection (1)) to an act of violence must be
        construed as if a person who is a primary victim by virtue of section
        8A(1) had suffered an injury; and

   (c)  references in this Act to an injury must be construed in relation to a
        person who is a primary victim by virtue of section 8A(1) as if the
        significant adverse effect experienced or suffered by that person were
        an injury suffered by that person.

(4) For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)-

   (a)  registered relationship has the same meaning as in the
        Relationships Act 2008; and

   (b)  in determining whether persons who are not in a registered
        relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the
        circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account,
        including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2)
        of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case;
        and

   (c)  a person is not a domestic partner of another person only because they
        are co-tenants.