Victims Support Act 2013

In this Act, act of violence means an act or series of related acts, whether committed by one or more persons—

that has apparently occurred in the course of the commission of an offence, and

that has involved violent conduct against one or more persons, and

that has resulted in injury or death to one or more of those persons.

For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to an offence in subsection (1) (a) extends to conduct of a person that would constitute an offence were it not for the fact that the person cannot, or might not, be held to be criminally responsible for the conduct because of the person’s age or mental illness or impairment.

For the purposes of this section, violent conduct extends to sexual assault and domestic violence.

To avoid doubt, a road crime is not an act of violence except in the circumstances provided for in section 25(2A) and (2B).

Except as provided by subsections (5) and (6), a series of related acts is two or more acts that are related because—

they were committed against the same person, and

in the opinion of the Tribunal or the Scheme Executive—

they were committed at approximately the same time, or

they were committed over a period of time by the same person or group of persons, or

they were, for any other reason, related to each other.

An act is not related to another act if, in the opinion of the Tribunal or the Scheme Executive, having regard to the particular circumstances of those acts, they ought not to be treated as related acts.

An act is not related to any earlier act in respect of which support is given under this Act if it occurs after the support is given.

For the purposes of this Act, a series of related acts, whether committed by one or more persons, constitutes a single act of violence.

In this Act—

sexual intercourse (within the meaning of Division 10 of Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900) with a person without his or her consent or with consent obtained by means of a non-violent threat,

sexual intercourse (within the meaning of Division 10 of Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900) with a child under the age of 16 years or with a person having a cognitive impairment (within the meaning of that Division),

self-penetration (within the meaning of section 80A of the Crimes Act 1900) which a person is compelled to engage in because of a threat (within the meaning of that section),

sexual touching (within the meaning of Division 10 of Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900) of a person without his or her consent or sexual touching of a child under the age of 16 years or the carrying out of a sexual act (within the meaning of that Division) with or towards a child under the age of 16 years,

participation with a child under the age of 18 years in an act of child prostitution (within the meaning of section 91C of the Crimes Act 1900) or the use of a child under the age of 18 years for the production of child abuse material (within the meaning of section 91FB of the Crimes Act 1900),

any other act resulting in injury that occurred in the commission of a personal violence offence (within the meaning of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007) against any of the following persons—

a person who is or has been married to the person who committed the offence,

a person who is or has been a de facto partner of the person who committed the offence,

a person who has or has had an intimate personal relationship with the person who committed the offence, whether or not the intimate relationship involves or has involved a relationship of a sexual nature,

a person who, at the time of the offence, was living in the same household as the person who committed the offence,

a person who, at the time of the offence, was living as a long-term resident in the same residential facility as the other person (not being a facility that is a correctional centre within the meaning of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 or a detention centre within the meaning of the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987),

a person who, at the time of the offence, had a relationship involving his or her dependence on the ongoing paid or unpaid care of the person who committed the offence,

a person who is or has been a parent, guardian or step-parent of the person who committed the offence,

a person who is or has been a child or step-child of the person who committed the offence, or some other child of whom the person is the guardian,

a person who is or has been a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother or step-sister of the person who committed the offence.