Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 (Vic)

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous

Amendments) Act 2003

Act No. 47/2003

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section 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

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ENDNOTES 9

i

Victoria

No. 47 of 2003

Victims of Crime Assistance

(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003†

[Assented to 11 June 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 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;

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

Act No. 47/2003 s. 2

(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;

(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 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.

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)

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

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:
dpc.vic. gov.au

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

s. 4 Act No. 47/2003

4. Evidence of deemed injury

In section 3(2) of the Principal Act, after

"medical" insert "or psychological".

5. Interim awards

(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 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

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".

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
application, without conducting a hearing
if—

(a)	the applicant has stated in the application a wish for the Tribunal to do so; or
(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

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

Act No. 47/2003 s. 7

(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
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 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
(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)

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 made.".

(2) In section 45(2) of the Principal Act, after "(1)"

insert "or (1A)".

8. Assignment of rights to the State

In section 51(1) of the Principal Act, for "before" substitute "after".

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

s. 9 Act No. 47/2003

9. Victims of childhood sexual assault

(1) Insert the following heading to section 77 of the

Principal Act—
"Transitional provisions (2000 and 2003

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 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

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)"

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

after—

(a) Victims of Crime Assistance

the commencement of section 9 of the 2003; or

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

Act No. 47/2003 s. 9

(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)—

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
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)".

(6) After section 77(6) of the Principal Act insert—

"(6A) If—

(a) before the commencement of section 9
of the Victims of Crime Assistance

an application is made under this 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 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 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
make it consistent with the award that would

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

s. 9 Act No. 47/2003

have been made in accordance with this Act
as amended by that Part if the application
had not been finally determined before that

commencement.".

(7) In section 77(7) of the Principal Act—

(a)	for "sub-section (6)" substitute "sub- sections (6) and (6A)";
(b)	Victims of Crime Assistance for "and (4)" substitute "(as amended by the (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 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
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—

(a) before the commencement of section 9
of the Victims of Crime Assistance

an application is made under this 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 of Crime Assistance (Amendment) Act 2000 apply by virtue of sub- section (3) as amended by the 2003 Act; and

Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2003

Act No. 47/2003 s. 10

(c)

the application had not been finally referred to in paragraph (a)—

the application may, in accordance with the
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

those Acts.".

10. New section 78 inserted

After section 77 of the Principal Act insert—

"78. Transitional provisions (2003 Amending

Act)

Subject to section 77, an amendment of this Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 applies to proceedings in the Tribunal occurring on or 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. 47/2003

ENDNOTES

†

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 1 May 2003

Legislative Council: 3 June 2003

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to make miscellaneous
amendments to the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 and for other
purposes."