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Victims of Crime Assistance
Amendment Bill 2007
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Clause Notes
Clause 1 sets out the purpose of the Bill which is to amend the Victims of
Crime Assistance Act 1996 (the Act) to increase the amounts of
special financial assistance that may be awarded to a primary
victim of an act of violence for significant adverse effects
experienced or suffered by the victim as a direct result of such an
act.
Clause 2 provides that the Bill will commence operation on 1 July 2007.
Clause 3 amends section 8A(5) of the Act by substituting a table setting
out the new minimum and maximum payments of special
financial assistance that may be awarded to primary victims of
categories of acts of violence.
The minimum and maximum amounts in the substituted Table
increase by 30% from the corresponding amounts in the current
Table, other than in the case of amounts for category A acts of
violence, which are increased by 33%.
It should be noted that each minimum and maximum amount
of special financial assistance for each category of an act of
violence is qualified by a statement that a higher amount may
be prescribed by Regulations in prescribed circumstances.
That qualification is contained in the current Table and preserved
in the substituted Table.
The categories of acts of violence are prescribed in Schedule 1 to
the Victims of Crime Assistance (Special Financial Assistance)
Regulations 2000 (S.R. No. 135/2000).
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Clause 4 inserts a new section 79 into the Act. That section provides that
the new maximum and minimum amounts apply only with
respect to acts of violence occurring on or after the
commencement day and awards made under section 8A in
respect of such acts of violence. The commencement day is
defined as 1 July 2007. If an act of violence occurs between two
dates, one before and one on or after the commencement day, the
act of violence is to be taken to have occurred on or after the
commencement day.
Clause 5 provides for the automatic repeal of this amending Act on 1 July
2008. As suggested by the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations
Committee, all amending Acts now contain an automatic repeal
provision, which will save the time and expense of having to
repeal amending Acts in statute law revision Bills. The repeal
of this Act will not affect in any way the operation of the
amendments made by this Act (see section 15(1) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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