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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 10 Hansard (26 November) . . Page.. 3038 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

The total amount of financial assistance that can be awarded in relation to applications under the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 1983 is $50,000. This is the same limit as applies under the current legislation.

The Bill contains amendments which simplify the processes applying to applications for financial assistance and makes them more accessible to persons who choose not to engage legal representation. Applications will be made to and decided by the Magistrates Court, rather than as at present the Supreme Court or the Registrar of the Supreme Court.

As is the case with the current legislation, the court will take account of certain factors which act to reduce awards. To prevent double dipping, awards will be reduced if the applicant receives financial assistance from another source, for example, damages, compensation or insurance payments. The court must also take account of the circumstances in which the injury, or property damage in the case of eligible property owners, was sustained, including whether voluntary intoxication or the victim's involvement in a minor offence was a contributing factor. However, self-intoxication will not reduce awards in cases where a sexual crime was committed against the victim.

The transitional provisions prevent compensation for pain and suffering from being awarded in relation to any compensation applications under the current legislation that were made after 23 June 1998 which have not been finalised when the amendments commence. Applications made before 23 June 1998 are unaffected by the amendments. The significance of 23 June 1998 is that it is the date on which the Government announced, as part of the 1998-99 budget, that it would be amending the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1983 to limit financial assistance to victims of crime.

To ensure that the transitional provisions do not operate unfairly against severely injured victims whose applications were made before the amendments commenced, the transitional provisions give applicants affected by the amendments an opportunity to apply for special assistance under the new financial assistance arrangements. The criteria which such applicants must satisfy in order to be awarded special assistance are the same as those for applicants whose applications are made under the amended legislation.

The amendments to the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 1983 include a new mechanism for recovering from convicted offenders any awards of financial assistance that have been paid by the Territory to their victims. The new mechanism cannot address the fundamental problem associated with such recovery, which is that in most cases the offender has few if any financial resources. It will, however, make recovery action more straightforward and it does provide for the Territory and the offender to make arrangements for payment, such as part payment or payments by instalments, which may result in an increase in the total amount recovered from offenders.

Offenders can also be made more accountable for their actions through an amendment to section 437 of the Crimes Act 1900 which will facilitate direct recovery from offenders by victims. This amendment gives victims the right to apply for a reparation order against the offender at the time of sentencing. It will provide a simple and cost-effective alternative to civil litigation against offenders for damages.

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