Bursac & Anor v Victims Compensation Tribunal Funds

The applicants, Bursac and Anor, sought judicial review of a decision by the Victims Compensation Tribunal Funds. The dispute concerned the eligibility of the applicants for compensation under the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) following a criminal act. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the applicants, who were victims of a criminal act that occurred outside of New South Wales but for which the offender was apprehended and convicted within New South Wales, were entitled to compensation under the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW). This involved an interpretation of the territorial scope of the Act and its application to victims whose injuries were sustained extraterritorially.

Gummow and Heydon JJ held that the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) did not extend to compensate victims for injuries sustained outside the territorial limits of New South Wales, even if the offender was apprehended and convicted within the State. Their Honours reasoned that the Act's provisions, particularly those relating to the definition of "victim" and the circumstances in which compensation could be awarded, were confined to acts occurring within New South Wales. The Court applied the principle that legislation is presumed to operate only within the territorial jurisdiction of the enacting legislature unless a contrary intention is clearly expressed. The appeal was dismissed.