Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003

i 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 ═══════════════ ENDNOTES 9 -- 1 of 10 -- 1 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; Victoria No. 47 of 2003 -- 2 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 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 In this Act, the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 is called the Principal Act. s. 2 See: Act No. 81/1996. Reprint No. 2 as at 1 January 2001 and amending Act Nos 11/2001 and 27/2001. LawToday: www.dms. dpc.vic. gov.au -- 3 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 3 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 s. 4 -- 4 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 4 (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 the guidelines irrespective of when 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". s. 7 -- 5 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 5 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) the commencement of section 9 of the Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003; or s. 9 -- 6 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 6 (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) an application is made under this Act before the commencement of section 9 of the Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) 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 determined before the commencement 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 s. 9 -- 7 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 7 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) for "and (4)" substitute "(as amended by the Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003), (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) an application is made under this Act before the commencement of section 9 of the Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) 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 s. 9 -- 8 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 8 (c) the application had not been finally determined before the commencement 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 Act made by a provision of the Victims of 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).". ═══════════════ s. 10 -- 9 of 10 -- Act No. 47/2003 Victims of Crime Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2003 9 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." Endnotes -- 10 of 10 --