Victims Compensation Fund Corporation v District Court of New South Wales

The Victims Compensation Fund Corporation sought judicial review by way of certiorari of a decision made by a District Court judge. The dispute concerned the judge's power to make an order for the payment of compensation to a victim under the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) where the victim had not been awarded compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the District Court judge had erred in law on the face of the record by making an order for compensation in circumstances where the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal had not made an award. This raised the question of the scope of the District Court's jurisdiction under the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) and whether the exercise of judicial power in this instance involved the resolution of a "legal" controversy as required by common law principles of judicial review.

The Court of Appeal held that the District Court judge had no power to make an order for compensation in the absence of an award by the Tribunal. The Court reasoned that the statutory scheme established by the *Victims Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) contemplated that the Tribunal would be the primary decision-maker regarding compensation awards. The District Court's role was limited to reviewing decisions of the Tribunal, not to substituting its own judgment or making an original award. Consequently, the judge's decision was found to be an error of law on the face of the record. The Court of Appeal ordered that the decision of the District Court judge be quashed.