South Eastern Sydney Local Health District v Lazarus

The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision of the District Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the jurisdiction of the District Court to make directions for compensation under section 97(1) of the *Victims Rights and Compensation Act 2013* (NSW) in circumstances where the offender had originally been convicted in the Local Court, and the District Court had subsequently "confirmed" those convictions on appeal. The applicant argued that the District Court lacked jurisdiction to make such an order as it was not the court that had originally convicted the offender.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the District Court possessed the necessary jurisdiction to make a compensation order under section 97(1) of the Act when its role was to confirm convictions on appeal rather than to impose the original conviction. This required an interpretation of the statutory provisions governing the District Court's appellate jurisdiction and its powers in relation to compensation orders for victims.

The Court of Appeal held that the District Court did have jurisdiction to make the compensation order. The Court reasoned that the phrase "court by which the offender was convicted" in section 97(1) of the Act should be interpreted broadly to include a court that, on appeal, confirms or upholds a conviction originally made by a lower court. The Court found that the District Court, by confirming the convictions, effectively became the court that had convicted the offender for the purposes of the Act. Consequently, the summons for judicial review was dismissed.