South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts (1) Subject to this
Act, on an application for statutory compensation, the court may order—
(a) that
the victim be paid by the Crown such amount as the court thinks fit by way of
compensation for the injury arising from the offence; or
(b) that
the dependants of a dead victim be paid by the Crown such amount as the court
thinks fit by way of compensation for the financial loss suffered by them (to
be proportioned between the various claimants as the court thinks fit); or
(c) in
the case of an application for compensation for grief—that a claimant be
paid by the Crown such amount (not exceeding $20 000 (indexed)) as the
Court thinks fit by way of compensation for the grief suffered by the
claimant; or
(d) in
the case of an application for compensation for funeral expenses—that
the claimant be paid—
(i)
the amount of funeral expenses incurred by the claimant;
or
(ii)
$14 000 (indexed),
whichever is the lesser.
(2) If the Crown
consents to the making of an order for statutory compensation, the court may,
without further inquiry, make an order on terms agreed by the claimant and the
Crown but—
(a) the
settlement does not bind the offender in any way unless the offender was a
party to the settlement agreement; and
(b) the
settlement does not limit rights that the claimant may have independently of
this Act against the offender (whether or not the offender is a party to the
settlement).
(3) In awarding
statutory compensation, the court must observe the following rules:
(a) in
the case of an award under subsection (1)(a) or (b)—
(i)
if financial loss is to be compensated and the amount
that would, but for this subparagraph, be awarded exceeds $2 000, the
amount awarded will, subject to subparagraph (iii), be $2 000 plus
three-quarters of the excess; and
(ii)
if a claim for non-financial loss is made—
• the total
non-financial loss must be assigned a numerical value on a scale running from
0 to 60 (the greater the severity of the non-financial loss, the greater the
number); and
• if the
numerical value so assigned is 2 or less, no award will be made for
non-financial loss but, if the numerical value exceeds 2, the amount awarded
will be the amount determined in accordance with Schedule a1 as
corresponding to the number so assigned; and
(iii)
in any case—where an amount arrived at to
compensate financial loss, or the aggregate of amounts arrived at to
compensate financial loss and non-financial loss, would, but for this
subparagraph, exceed $100 000 (indexed), the amount awarded will be
$100 000 (indexed);
(c)
subject to the following qualifications, statutory compensation amounting in
aggregate to more than $100 000 (indexed) cannot be awarded to any single
claimant.
Qualifications—
1 If the claimant claims both as a dependant or
representative of the dependants of a deceased victim and in some other
capacity, the limitation applies separately to each capacity in which the
claimant claims.
2 An amount to which an applicant is entitled by
way of funeral expenses will not be brought into account in determining
whether the limitation has been exceeded.
(4) In determining an
application for, and the quantum of, statutory compensation, the court must
have regard to—
(a) any
conduct on the part of the victim (whether or not forming part of the
circumstances immediately surrounding the offence or injury) that contributed,
directly or indirectly, to the commission of the offence, or to the injury to
the victim; and
(b) such
other circumstances as it considers relevant.
(5) The court must not
make an order for compensation in respect of injury to a claimant caused by an
offence if the court—
(a) is
satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the injury to the claimant occurred
while the claimant was engaged in conduct constituting an indictable offence;
and
(b) is
satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the claimant's conduct
contributed materially to the risk of injury to the claimant,
(unless the court is satisfied that, in the circumstances of the particular
claim, failure to compensate would be unjust).
(5a) The court must
not make an order for compensation for grief or funeral expenses in favour of
a claimant if the court—
(a) is
satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the victim's death occurred while the
claimant was engaged in conduct constituting an indictable offence; and
(b) is
satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the claimant's conduct
contributed materially to the death of the victim,
(unless the court is satisfied that, in the circumstances of the particular
claim, failure to compensate would be unjust).
(6) For the purposes
of subsections (5)(a) and (5a)(a), a relevant conviction or acquittal is
to be regarded as conclusive of the claimant's guilt or innocence of the
indictable offence.
(7) The court must not
make an order for compensation in favour of a claimant if it appears to the
court that the claimant, without good reason—
(a)
failed to report the offence to the police within a reasonable time after its
commission; or
(b)
refused or failed to provide information to the police that was within the
claimant's knowledge as to the offender's identity or whereabouts; or
(c)
refused or failed to give evidence in the prosecution of the offender; or
(d)
otherwise refused or failed to co-operate properly in the investigation or
prosecution of the offence,
and, in consequence, investigation or prosecution of the offence was not
commenced or was terminated or hindered to a significant extent.
(8) In deciding the
amount of compensation to be awarded, the court must take into account—
(a) any
failure by the claimant to avail himself or herself of proper medical
treatment or rehabilitative therapy; or
(b) any
other failure to take proper steps to mitigate his or her loss.
(9) No interest may be
awarded by the court in respect of the whole or any part of the amount of
statutory compensation ordered.
(10) If the court has
made an order for compensation under this section—
(a) it
must, where the offender has been convicted, or adjudged or found guilty, of
the offence, endorse on or annex to the order a statement of the offender's
means (so far as they are ascertainable by the court); and
(b) it
must endorse on or annex to the order a statement of any payments that the
claimant has received, or would, were the claimant to exhaust all other
available remedies, be likely to receive, in respect of the injury or the
death of the victim, apart from this Act.
(11) The court may
make such orders for the costs of proceedings under this Act as the court
thinks fit.