Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009

The government assessor can not grant assistance to a primary victim of an act of violence if the government assessor is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, the only reason, or the main reason, the act of violence was committed against the primary victim was—

because the victim was involved in a criminal activity when the act of violence happened; or

because of the victim’s previous involvement in a criminal activity, whether or not the victim is currently involved in the criminal activity.

The government assessor can not grant assistance in relation to an act of violence to a person who is not the primary victim of the act if the government assessor is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities—

the only reason, or the main reason, the act of violence was committed against the primary victim of the act was a reason mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b); and

the person was, or ought reasonably to have been, aware of the primary victim’s involvement in the criminal activity.

Subsection (2) does not apply if the person was aware of the primary victim’s involvement in the criminal activity only because the person witnessed the act of violence.

In deciding whether a primary victim of an act of violence was involved in a criminal activity, the government assessor may have regard to the following—

any information, or the contents of any document, about the act of violence obtained under section 65 or 66; and

the circumstances of the offences to which the convictions mentioned in the victim’s criminal history relate, including—

when the offences happened; and

the seriousness of the offences; and

the primary victim’s age when the offences happened; and

the regularity of the offences; and

any other matters the assessor considers relevant for assessing the primary victim’s involvement in a criminal activity.