Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

ACTS REVISION (VICTIMS OF CRIME) ACT 1994 (NO. 84 OF 1994) - SECT 14

14. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended—

    (a)     by omitting “(other than an Act or regulations under an Act)” from the definition of “offence” in subsection (1); and

    (b)     by inserting in subsection (1) the following definitions:

“ ‘child' means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

‘harm' includes—

        (a)     physical injury;

        (b)     mental injury or emotional suffering (including grief);

        (c)     pregnancy;

        (d)     economic loss; and

        (e)     substantial impairment of rights accorded by law;

‘victim', in relation to a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment, means—

        (a)     a person (in this definition called the ‘primary victim') who suffers harm—

              (i)     in the course of, or as the result of, the commission of an offence for which the person is serving the sentence or an offence taken into account by the court when imposing the sentence; or

              (ii)     in the course of assisting a police officer in the exercise of the officer's power to arrest the person or to take action to prevent the commission of an offence by the person; or

        (b)     where a primary victim dies as a result of the commission of an offence for which the person was serving the sentence, or an offence taken into account by the court when imposing the sentence—any person who was financially or psychologically dependent on the primary victim immediately before his or her death.”.