VICTIMS OF CRIME RIGHTS AND SERVICES BILL 2006 Second Reading Speech

Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

VICTIMS OF CRIME RIGHTS AND SERVICES BILL 2006

(This an uncorrected proof of the daily report. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such.)

Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.

The purpose of these bills is to implement this government's election commitment to reform support services of victims of crime. These reforms provide a fresh focus and approach to the needs of and support for victims of crime. This is one of the most wide reaching reforms of victim services ever undertaken in the Northern Territory.

Victim services in the Territory are currently inefficient and uncoordinated. This has been the case for many years. The victims compensation scheme provided by the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act has been operating at an enormous annual cost to the Territory, yet much of those costs have not been going to the victims of serious crime, the intended beneficiaries of this scheme, but have been spent on legal costs. The current compensation scheme is also too slow in providing financial support, intimidating for victims and overly complex.

There are many excellent government and non government victim services across the Territory but they do not exist within a coordinated framework. This means that services for victims cannot be provided as efficiently or effectively as they should be. The reforms that I introduce today will provide a means to ensure that this is no longer the case.

These proposed reforms are largely based on recommendations made by the Crimes Victim Advisory Committee or CVAC. CVAC is a statutory body comprising of members from both within and outside government established to provide the Attorney-General with advice about matters affecting victims of crime. The committee is chaired by a magistrate and includes representatives from Victims of Crime NT and the Sexual Assault Referral Centre and the Witness Assistance Service of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as a non-government legal practitioner and medical practitioner. Over the years it has always provided government with independent, sound and thorough advice.

The reforms represent the second stage of a process that began in 2002 with amendments to the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act based largely on recommendations made by CVAC in a 1997 report. While the 2002 amendments have resulted in improvements to the scheme by simplifying the compensation process reducing the amount of money spent on legal costs and speeding up the assessment process, it is still an adversarial process that can be slow and intimidating for victims. After the 2002 reforms were put in place, a further consultation process was undertaken to further improve the system.

In November 2002, a discussion paper was released seeking general community comment on possibilities for improved assistance and support for victims. The responses to these papers were consistent with the wider recommendations made by CVAC in its 1997 report relating to the establishment of an administrative and counselling scheme. The submissions received also showed an overwhelming support for claims for assistance to be assessed by a tribunal or administrative process rather than through a court process.

There was general support for the use of counselling as a more immediate response to victims' needs. Submissions also indicated that other types of immediate assistance should be available to victims in addition to counselling. Many of the submissions focused on the provision of a scheme that could respond to victims' needs in a timely manner and assist them to come to terms with, and recover from, the crimes committed against them as quickly as possible. There was a recognition that lengthy delays in assistant can exacerbate the effect of the crime.

Another issue that arose was whether there was a need for the creation of a victims' register in order to provide Victims of Crimes with information about the release dates and other relevant information related to offenders. This issue was referred to CVAC in 2004 and a final report was provided in April 2005, recommending a register be established and advising the form it should take. These recommendations are adopted as part of this legislative package.

The first of these bills, The Victim of Crime Assistance Bill 2006, repeals and replaces the Crimes Victim Assistance Act, and establishes a new administrative assessment scheme for the provision of financial assistance to victims of violent crime. It also establishes a counselling scheme which will provide immediate counselling assistance to victims across the Territory.

The second bill, The Victims of Crime Rights and Services Bill 2006, consolidates all other Territory legislation related to victims. It establishes a Crime Victim Services Unit, CVSU, and a victims' register. It also repeals and replaces the Crimes Victim Advisory Committee Act and provides for the Attorney-General to issue a charter of victims' rights.

I will now turn to the specific details of the legislation. The Victims of Crime Assistance Bill 2006, repeals the Crimes Victims Assistance Act which provides the current court-based compensation scheme for personal injuries, known as the CVA scheme. As mentioned earlier, this scheme has come under criticism in the past for a range of reasons including: being too complex and intimidating for victims; being too slow in the resolution of claims; and for not providing any up-front assistance when victims require it most. Significantly, it also provides the lowest maximum payment in Australia for a criminal injuries compensation scheme. At present, there is a $25 000 maximum award available to victims of a crime. Awards can be comprised of both economic loss - for example, medical expenses and loss of earnings - and non-economic loss - for example, pain and suffering. They are assessed by the local court on common law principles for the assessment of damages in personal injury cases. Almost all victims require to be and are legally represented, resulting, on current figures, in around 40% of the costs of the scheme being spent on the legal costs. In 2004-05, almost $2m was spent was these costs.

Research has shown that immediate assistance support and counselling is one of the most effective ways to help victims of crime overcome and rehabilitate from the effects of the crime. Despite that understanding, there is currently, under the existing legislation, no ability to provide immediate assistance to victims needing urgent help; for example, to meet urgent medical or dental costs or replace essential items such as glasses. Family members of murder victims cannot even get immediate assistance to pay for funeral costs.

It is proposed to abandon the current litigation-based scheme and adopt a scheme for administrative assessment of financial assistance for personal injuries resulting from a crime. The main elements of the proposed scheme are as follows. There are three main types of assistance: counselling assistance, financial assistance for economic loss - for example out of pocket expenses; and financial assistance for compensable injuries similar to the awards for pain and suffering made at common law. All victims, including extended family members of the primary victim, are eligible for counselling. Victims who are eligible for compensation under the Work Health Act of Motor Accident Compensation Act will be eligible for counselling but will not be eligible for financial assistance under this scheme. Total maximum financial assistance for a single primary or secondary victim will increase from $25 000 to $40 000. The $40 000 maximum can include up to $10 000 in financial loss, such as the loss of earnings and medical costs, and up to $40 000 for the injury itself as long the overall total financial assistance does not exceed $40 000.

Compensation for the injury itself will be determined by a table of compensable injuries which will specify set amounts for specific injuries. A minimum threshold of $7500 will be introduced in relation to compensable injuries, although it would be able to be met by a combination of several separate injuries. There will be no minimum threshold for financial loss. Of the $10 000 maximum available for financial loss, up to $5000 can be made immediately available to victims in circumstances of hardship. Applications for financial assistance will be made to the new CVSU established under the Victims of Crime Rights and Services Bill 2006. The application process will be simplified and the case mangers at the CVSU will be available to assist victims to prepare their applications.

Final decisions as to the eligibility and assessments of awards will be made by legally trained assessors on an administrative basis. Guidelines will be developed to assist the director of the CVSU and the assessors in making decisions. Appeals will be available to the local court against the decision of an assessor, and legal costs will be payable for successful appellants. The current provisions of the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act providing for recovery of assistance from an offender and the establishment of the Victims Assistance Fund, including the imposition of the Victims Levy will continue in the same form.

Madam Speaker, I now turn to the elements of the scheme in more detail. As with the current scheme, under the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act, financial assistance is not payable in relation to any type of criminal offence. It is only payable for an offence that has resulted in injury to or death of a person. Under clause 5 of the Victims of Crime Assistance Bill 2006, these offences are referred to as violent acts.

The bill specifically defines four types of victims who are eligible for assistance: primary victims; secondary victims; family victims; and related victims.

Under clause 9, primary victims are persons who suffer an injury as a direct result of a violent act. In addition, a primary victim is also a person who suffers an injury as a result of trying to prevent the commission of a violent act, trying to rescue or help a victim of a violent act, or trying to arrest a person. For the purpose of defining family victims, a primary victim is also a person who has died as a result of these incidents. Each primary victim of a violent act is eligible for: counselling; financial assistance for one or more compensable injuries up to $40 000, providing the $7500 threshold is met; and financial assistance of up to $10 000 for financial loss, including immediate assistance of up to $5000 in circumstances of hardship.

The overall total of the financial assistance components must not, however, exceed $40 000. For the primary victim, financial loss can be the loss of earnings, medical expenses, expenses due to the loss of clothing and other personal effects or, in exceptional circumstances, other expenses to assist his or her recovery, for example, relocation expenses or security measures.

Clause 11 defines a secondary victim for the purposes of the assistance scheme. A secondary victim is a person who was present at the scene of a violent act, or suffered an injury as a direct result of witnessing the violent act. In addition, a secondary victim can be a person who suffers an injury as a direct result of subsequently becoming aware of the violent act. This is limited to parents, stepparents or guardians of a primary victim who is a child or, if the primary victim is not a child, it is limited to the children, stepchildren or children under the guardianship of the primary victim. A secondary victim of a violent act is eligible to apply for the same range of assistance available to the primary victim, other than expenses due to the loss of clothing or personal effects.

The same maximum amount of $40 000 is available to a secondary victim. However, in this case $40 000 constitutes a pool that is to be shared amongst all secondary victims of each violent act. This recognises the need to give principle support to the primary victims over other persons affected by the crime but nonetheless ensures that persons affected by a crime have access to an appropriate level of financial assistance. Recognising the special place of witnesses of a violent act who were the parents or children of a primary victim who died this type of secondary victim takes primacy over other secondary victims.

The third definition of victims eligible for assistance under this new scheme is the family victim. This category recognises the fact that there is a wide range of family members who may suffer and may also incur expenses on behalf of a primary victim who dies such as funeral costs and medical costs. Family victims will be entitled to claim for financial loss of up to $10 000 including up to $5000 in immediate payments. This can be funeral expenses, loss of financial support from the primary victim, the primary victim's medical expenses, and other expenses to assist the family victim to recover.

Clause 13 provides that a family victim is a person who is the spouse or de facto partner of the primary victim, or who is a parent, step parent or guardian of the primary victim, or who is child or a step child or a child under the guardianship of the primary victim, or a person entirely or substantially dependent for financial support on the primary victim. Sub-clause 2 clarifies that in relation to family victims a reference to a child of a primary victim includes a reference to a child of a primary victim born after the violent act occurs. This would cover a child who survived despite being in utero when their mother was murdered.

Unlike the other categories of victims, a family victim need not suffer a physical or mental injury. Financial assistance in this case is aimed at assisting people who have been dependent on the primary victim in one way or another, and those who have incurred expenses on behalf of another.

Family victims of any violent act, whether it involves the death of the primary victim or not, are eligible for counselling. Similar to secondary victims, it should be noted that under clause 40 of the bill there is a pool of $40 000 available that is to be shared between all family victims of each violent act. However, family victims who are totally or substantially dependent on the primary victim take primacy over other family victims.

The final category of victim is the related victim. This definition recognises that a wide range of people may be affected by a violent act committed against a person and that they may need support in coming to terms with a friend or relative's death or injury. Clause 15 defines the related victim as a person who is not a family victim as defined by clause 13, but who is a relative of, or has an intimate personal relationship with, the primary victim. This category goes well beyond what is available under the current scheme as it is not necessary that the related victim prove an injury. However, to ensure that the category is not open to abuse the regulations may exclude persons from the category and, as with secondary or family victims, a person cannot be a related victim if the person committed the violent act. All related victims are eligible for counselling.

One the of most significant aspects of the reforms is the establishment of the victims counselling scheme under Part 3 of the bill which will provide immediate counselling assistance to victims and the extended victims of crime. This form of immediate assistance is much more effective in assisting victims to come to terms with the effects of a crime than the current approach that provides only financial assistance, provides it via an intimidating court process, and provides it long after the event.

Funding for victims assistance is considered to be better directed from financially compensating victims with less serious or minor injuries to a counselling scheme which will assist a wider range of victims with all levels of injury and will assist their recovery in a more practical and positive way.

Money, will never compensate for the trauma or loss associated with violent crime. What is needed is a scheme that pools resources into a more effective means of recovery. A tender process will be undertaken across the Territory so that non-government organisations or individuals can be engaged on a contractual basis to provide immediate crisis counselling for victims in different regional areas across the Northern Territory. This follows the model used in both Western Australia and Tasmania. An important aspect is that this funding will enhance the current services in regional areas and allow existing agencies to take on more staff. These regional services may be able to reach more remote areas as part of this service. Additionally, in the regional and remote areas where formal counselling is not always appropriate, it is anticipated that part of the engagement will include general victim support, assistance and referrals, and other services such as the establishment of victim support groups and community victim education programs.

There will be no set upper limit on the amount of counselling that an individual victim may be able to receive under the scheme. However, if a counsellor determines that a victim requires further ongoing specialist psychological or psychiatric treatment the cost of this treatment will need to be dealt with as part of the formal application for financial assistance as the counselling organisations are not envisaged to be able to provide that ongoing specialist approach.

Madam Speaker, the other aspect of the change is focused to upfront assistance is provision for immediate monetary assistance. Up to $5000 can be made immediately available to victims for out of pocket expenses in circumstances of financial hardship. This can include payment of upfront medical expenses including ambulance and dental; replacement of personal items, such as clothing and glasses; relocation costs; security measures; and funeral costs. This type of assistance is one of the advantages of moving to an administrative scheme because it can provide financial assistance closer to the event when it is usually most needed and most effective and to those most in need of help.

Division 2 of Part 4 of the bill deals with these immediate payments. Unlike assessments for general awards of financial assistance which are decided by assessors, decisions about immediate payments will be made by the director. Under clause 28 a decision by the director in relation to an application for an immediate payment will not be reviewable or appealable. However, a victim can still apply for a general award of financial assistance under Division 3 of the Part 4 if their application for immediate payment has been rejected. As immediate payments are decided by a director on a less formal basis, an assessment must reconsider any immediate payments when deciding on a general award of financial assistance.

Immediate payments will be deducted from any ultimate award of financial assistance for financial loss. That is immediate payments will be included in the maximum of $10 000 for financial loss. The third type of assistance available is in relation to the actual injury to be known as a compensable injury. The amount of financial assistance for compensable injuries will be determined according to a table prescribed by the regulations that will list compensable injuries and specify the amount payable for each injury.

The use of a table will assist in ensuring applications are dealt with as quickly as possible and ensure consistency of the amount of assistance. It will also provide greater transparency to the process and more certainty for applicants. A significant aspect of the table is that it is proposed that sexual assault victims will no longer need to prove a specific injury. They will only need to establish that the relevant assault or assaults have taken place. This will reduce the stress of such victims as they will no longer have to go through the indignity of proving the assault and their injury, the impact of the injury and that they have actually suffered from the assault. It is proposed that there will be three levels of compensation for sexual assault victims depending on the seriousness of the offence including such things as whether there was violence involved, whether there was more than one offender or if there was actual intercourse.

Assistance for compensable injuries must reach a standard amount that is to be prescribed by regulations. The other forms of assistance that of counselling and recovery of financial loss do not have to exceed the standard amount. In effect the standard amount will set a threshold of $7500 in relation to compensable injuries for which financial assistance for compensable injuries is payable. The standard amount can be met by a combination of one or more compensable injuries. The introduction of a threshold consistent with victim's assistance schemes in other jurisdictions. For example, New South Wales also applies a minimum threshold of $7500. In Queensland, financial assistance is only available for harm caused by an indictable serious offence and the Australian Capital Territory limits financial assistance for non-economic harm to cases where there is an extremely serious injury.

The provision of a threshold amount is also consistent with the policy taken in respect of several personal injury claims that was introduced by Personal Injuries (Liabilities and Damages) Act 2003 as part of the national process of tort law reform. At present compensation for non-pecuniary loss is not recoverable where that loss is assessed at less than 5% impairment. The setting of a threshold must be viewed in the context of the increased maximum from $25 000 to $40 000 and the additional provision of counselling. Funding for assistance schemes by governments is not unlimited, and the object of a criminal injuries compensation scheme must be to provide assistance to victims in a balanced, fair and appropriate manner, and to ensure that funds are directed to victims who have the greatest need.

Another significant aspect of the bill is that it disentitles a victim who may also be eligible to apply for compensation under the Work Health Act or the Motor Accidents Compensation Act. Neither of these schemes allow for compensation for pain and suffering. At present, a victim of crime can apply under both schemes for compensation. There is some evidence that the current scheme has increasingly been used to top up claims that are otherwise covered by these schemes. This government believes that it is inappropriate to allow people to shop around and access compensation from a variety of funds. The different statutory compensation schemes provide different types and amounts of assistance and, therefore, should be completely separated. For example, the Work Health Scheme provides for much higher amounts of compensation for serious bodily impairment than has ever been available under the Victims Assistance Scheme and it does not limit the economic loss component.

On the other hand, the Work Health Scheme does not compensate for pain and suffering. The effect of allowing victims to access a variety of compensation schemes is that these victims will often be better off than other victims of crime or injured workers who only have access to one scheme. This puts unnecessary and unfair pressure on these funds and creates unjust inconsistencies between injured persons. For example, in relation to the level of injuries from a motor vehicle, it is irrelevant, in terms of the harm occasioned, whether a person was injured as a result of a pure accident or by an act of dangerous driving. Nevertheless, consistent with the emphasis on counselling as a means of minimising harm suffered, the counselling scheme will be extended to victims of offences who are eligible for compensation under those other schemes.

I now turn to the application process for the awards of financial assistance. Applications for general financial assistance, as opposed to immediate payments, will be made directly to the Director of the CVSU. Officers of the CVSU will be available to assist applicants in preparing their applications, including accessing police reports for that purpose.

Clause 31 of the bill provides that an application must be lodged no later than two years after the injury or death occurred. The current scheme only allows a 12-month time limit after the offence has occurred. The two-year limit can be extended by the director if he or she considers the circumstances are justified.

Once an application is finalised, the director must give the application to an assessor for assessment in accordance with Division 4 of Part 4. Assessors are empowered under clauses 35 and 36 to require an applicant to undergo examinations and to obtain information to make inquiries necessary for the assessor to make a proper decision. As with the current Crimes Victims Assistance Act, the assessor may reduce the award or not make the award in certain circumstances - for example, where the application was made in collusion with the offender. This is to ensure that the scheme is not abused.

Once the assessor makes a decision, he or she must give the director a notice of the decision which must be forwarded to the applicant. Notification must include details of the award or awards and the reasons for the decision. It can also specify how the assistance is to be paid or managed, such as by the creation of a trust, if the application was made on behalf of a victim. If the application is rejected, the assessor must provide reasons and details of the appeal procedures. Division 5 of Part 4 governs the payments of financial assistance and provides that the Territory must pay the victim within 28 days of the notification to the applicant.

Clause 46 provides that a victim may apply for an increase in the award. This is to cover situations where there has been a significant change in the circumstances, such as the injury has become more serious than was the original prognosis. An increase can only be granted if the maximum amount of financial assistance of $40 000 has not already been made ...

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Visitors

Madam SPEAKER: Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, I take this opportunity to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of Year 10 St John's College students accompanied by Philippa Hamilton-Smith. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.

Members: Hear, hear!

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Dr TOYNE: On the other hand, clause 47 allows for an assessor to require the refund of an award if the victim is not entitled to assistance, for example, if the victim later receives compensation from the offender or another source.

One of the consequences of introducing an administrative scheme is to move away from legal representation for applicants. Some concern has been raised at the removal of the right to payment of legal costs in relation to an application, amounts to victims losing their right of legal representation. However, the application process will be simplified to such an extent that legal assistance will not be necessary. Legal representation is not necessary where a fair and transparent compensation process exists. In the event that a victim is dissatisfied with the decision of an assessor or the director, he or she can appeal to the local court under the provisions of division 6 of part 4. Legal costs will be payable on that appeal where the appellant is successful. The existence of appeal rights and the scrutiny of decisions by a court ensures the soundness of the administrative process.

Madam Speaker, under the current scheme, the Northern Territory may apply to a court for recovery of an amount of assistance from the offender. The bill also retains the current Victims Assistance Fund and the Victims Levy in essentially the same form as under the current Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act.

Part 7 of the bill provides for a range of miscellaneous matters, including the issuing of guidelines and regulations. These will be important as they will provide more detailed guidance to the director and assessor as to the preparation of applications and the assessment process. Simple forms will be developed during the implementation phase of the new scheme and these will be prescribed by regulations. The regulations will also prescribe the table of compensable injuries setting out the amounts payable in relation to specific injuries. The scheme will apply to all applications made after the act commences, even if the offence occurred prior to that date.

I propose to review the operation of the scheme after the first three years of operation. Although I am confident that this new scheme will dramatically improve the assistance available to victims across the Northern Territory, as with any reform, it is essential to make sure that it is operated as fairly and efficiently as envisaged, and provides the maximum benefit to the people it is designed to help.

Madam Speaker, I now turn to the second bill I introduced today, the Victims of Crime Rights and Services Bill 2006. The operation of the new counselling and financial assistance scheme is dependent on this act, as it establishes the new Crimes Victim Services Unit, the CVSU, whose main role will be to operate and provide assistance to victims in relation to the assistance scheme, including the counselling scheme. Other roles will be to provide administrative assistance to the Crime Victims Advisory Committee, the CVAC, establish and maintain the victims register, promote and oversee the operation of the Charter of Victims Rights, provide community education about the rights of victims and coordinate services provided to victims by the Northern Territory.

Part 3 of the bill provides for the establishment and operation of the CVAC. The current legislative provisions for the CVAC are contained in the Crimes Victims Advisory Committee Act. They will now be moved into the Victims of Crime Rights and Services Bill 2006 so that the bill becomes a consolidation of the victim-related legislation, complementing the Victims of Crime Assistance Bill 2006. Other than technical changes, the only substantial change to the CVAC provisions is to provide for the director of the CVSU to be a member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, part 4 of the bill establishes the new Victims Register. As I mentioned earlier, this reform is based on the April 2005 report from the CVAC. The purpose of the register is to allow victims to elect to receive information about an offender who has been imprisoned or committed a violent offence against them as the offender proceeds through the correctional system. It also allows such victims to make written submissions to the Parole Board in relation to the relative offender. The evidence and feedback from victims' groups has been that this kind of information and the right to make submissions as to parole will provide victims with a great deal of certainty and comfort as they try to recover from the trauma resulting from the offence.

Information about release dates and the relevant offender's behaviour in prison allow a victim to prepare for the effect that the offender's release may have on them and their family. Especially in a jurisdiction with such a small population as the Territory, a victim can run a real risk of bumping into an offender after he or she has been released. If the victim is not aware the offender has been released, this can cause enormous pain and stress for the victim.

It must be remembered that the right of victims to access this information and the general community interest in ensuring victims recover from the effects of crime as quickly and as easily as possible must be balanced against privacy concerns in relation to prisoners and the community interest in assisting and encouraging their rehabilitation. The bill has been carefully drafted to balance these rights. There is no point in a victim receiving personal information about an offender if it will not actually assist the victim, or if the victim does not want to receive the information. Access to an offender's personal information should also not be provided if it would put the offender at risk.

People who will be automatically eligible to be registered are victims in relation to whom an offender has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a violent offence. This can include the legal guardian of a victim who is a person under a disability or who is a child. To be registered, the victim must have been injured, including psychologically injured, as a result of the offence. Clause 19(2) sets out a list of concerned persons who can also be registered in appropriate circumstances with the approval of the director of the CVSU. These include the primary caregiver of an injured victim, a person with a history of domestic violence from the offender, a victim of a violent robbery, and a victim of an unlawful entry who was in the building at the time. There is also a general catch-all pedigree of a person with a substantial concern with the relevant offence.

There will be guidelines developed to ensure that the director appropriately exercises his or her discretion in relation to the registration of concerned persons, for example, so that only people who are under a real threat of intimidation of violence or their guardian or nominee can be registered. It should be noted that where an offender is a child, the victim will not be automatically eligible to be registered.

Under clause 21(2), the director must be satisfied that the circumstances justify the registration where a child offender is involved. Of course, there may be situations where registration of a victim in relation to a juvenile offender may be justifiable and desirable. For example, where a serious sexual or other violent assaults have been committed by the juvenile, but where a young offender is involved, it is vitally important to ensure that he or she can be given the greatest chance to rehabilitation. The discretion in relation to juveniles permits a balancing of interest to be undertaken. A victim or a concerned person can apply to be put on the register at any time before the offender is discharged from the sentence of imprisonment.

This brings me to the actual information about the offender that will be made available to registered persons. There are two categories of information. First, the information that is automatically available, and second, information that is available only on specific request.

In relation to the first category, if the offender is sentenced to a non-parole period, the registered person is entitled to be informed of the earliest possible date of release on parole, the date where the Parole Board is to consider release on parole, the actual date of release on parole, the conditions of a parole order, and the revocation or cancellation of a parole order. If the offender is under a suspended sentence order, the registered person is automatically entitled to be informed of the date of release from prison under a suspended sentence order, the conditions of a suspended sentence order, and the variation, revocation, cancellation or discharge of a suspended sentence order.

Also, generally in relation to an offender serving a term of imprisonment, all registered persons are automatically entitled to be informed of transfer to another prison interstate or overseas, escape from prison or any recapture, the actual date of discharge from prison, any other sentence that may affect the earliest date of release or period of imprisonment, or suspended sentence order, if known, the locality where the offender intends to reside, the death of the offender, and any other further information specified by the regulations.

In relation to the second category of information, that is information only provided to a registered person on request, a registered person is entitled to be informed of a transfer to another prison in the Territory, the status of the security rating and any change in status, courses or programs undertaken for rehabilitation, any approved leave or absence from prison, and any further information specified by the regulations. Even if an applicant is registered after the offender is discharged from prison the victim or concerned person can be registered. This will allow them to receive information that may still be relevant such as where the offender intends to reside and whether the offender died in prison.

Madam Speaker, clause 24 provides registered persons with an express statutory right to make written submissions to the parole board about an offender who is about to be considered for release on parole. At present the practice is that any written submissions provided to the parole board in relation to an offender will be considered by the board. However this practice is ad hoc and the onus is on the victim to contact the parole board to find out when the offender's parole is being considered. There is no express statutory right for victims to make submissions to the board, nor is there a formal process for this practice. Consequently many victims are either unaware that making a written submission is an option or are deterred from doing so because of the difficulty in contacting and board. The statutory right provided to registered persons to be informed of the date an offender is to be considered for parole along with the right to make a submission will address these current deficiencies. It should be noted that the parole board is not restricted to considering submissions from registered persons, for example, a victim may not want to be placed on the register but he or she may still want to make a submission to the board in relation to parole.

Madam Speaker, under clause 26 the CVSU is not obliged to give information to a registered person if the director reasonably considers the information should be withheld. This clause is supported by the information commissioner and an approach taken in other jurisdictions in relation to their victim's registers. The purpose of this clause is to protect offenders in cases where the offender may be at risk, for example, where there has been threats made against the offender or to prevent cases of vigilantism. There will be guidelines developed in relation to circumstance in which the CVSU can refuse to provide information to a registered person. In order to maintain the integrity of the register a registered person will be obliged to provide updates on name changes and their contact details. This is to ensure the CVSU has sufficient information to effectively fulfil its own functions under the bill.

A registered person will also be required to sign a confidentiality agreement in accordance with the regulations. As the information provided to a registered persons about an offender is essentially their personal information it should be protected like any other personal information. The provision of this information to registered persons is to assist victims and other people affected by crime to come to terms with the crime and reduce the impact the release of the prisoner may have on the registered person. The information is not for public release. Clause 29 strengthens this obligation by creating a non-disclosure offence. The offence applies to all people including the CVSU, a registered person and an offender. The regulations will provide for the circumstances where a name may be removed from the register. This will include where the person requests their name to be removed, where the offender has been discharged from prison and where the victim can not be contacted after reasonable attempts.

Madam Speaker, the bill also provides for the minister to issue a charter of victim's rights to establish the principles about the way in which the victims are to be treated in the justice system and to provide for any other matters relevant to the rights of victims. The relevant minister has in the past issued a victims charter setting out the general principles as to how victims should be treated in the justice system which also includes lists of victim's services and contact details. However this charter has had no legislative backing or central body overseeing its operation. The establishment of CVSU will provide an appropriate centralised office for victims to contact to seek advice in relation to breaches or the charter. The CVSU will be able to conduct investigations and report to the minister on any identified breaches.

Madam Speaker, these reforms will implement far reaching changes in the way victims are treated within the Northern Territory justice system. Of course such wide ranging reforms can not be implemented overnight. The new CVSU will need to be established, guidelines and forms will need to be drafted, information technology requirements for the operation of the new victims' register will need to be developed, and counselling scheme commenced. A comprehensive education program will be undertaken to assist stakeholders to understand and prepare for the new scheme.

I am very proud to be introducing these reforms. I believe that they will vastly expand and improve victims' services in the Northern Territory, and will prove to be of considerable benefit to victims of crime.

Madam Speaker, I commend the bills to honourable members and table copies of the explanatory statements.

Debate adjourned.

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