1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003.
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Bill homepageThis Act may be cited as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003.
This Act comes into operation on a day fixed by proclamation.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
alleged offence means a crime, misdemeanour or simple offence of which no person has been convicted;
applicant means a person who makes a compensation application;
assessor means the Chief Assessor, or an assessor, appointed under Schedule 1 clause 2;
CEO means the chief executive officer of the department of the Public Service that principally assists the Minister in the administration of this Act;
Chief Assessor means the Chief Assessor of Criminal Injuries Compensation appointed under Schedule 1 clause 2(1);
close relative has the meaning given by section 4;
compensation application means an application for criminal injuries compensation made under Part 2;
compensation award means an award of compensation made under Part 4;
compensation reimbursement order means an order made under section 52 of this Act, or section 39(1) of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1985 1;
convicted has a meaning affected by section 5;
health professional means —
a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the dental profession whose name is entered on the Dentists Division of the Register of Dental Practitioners kept under that Law or under a law of another place that is substantially similar to that Law; or
a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession or under a law of another place that is substantially similar to that Law; or
a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the psychology profession or under a law of another place that is substantially similar to that Law;
injury means bodily harm, mental and nervous shock, or pregnancy;
interested person, in relation to a compensation application or to a compensation award made on such an application, means —
the applicant; or
a person who an assessor thinks may become liable under Part 6 to pay an amount to the State; or
the CEO;
loss has the meaning given by section 6;
offence means an alleged offence or a proved offence;
personal representative, of a deceased person, means —
the executor or the administrator of the deceased’s estate;
in the absence of such an executor or administrator, a person who satisfies an assessor that the person is entitled to apply to be the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate;
proved offence means a crime, misdemeanour or simple offence of which a person has been convicted;
record means any record of information, whether made on paper, electronically or otherwise and whether in writing or otherwise;
satisfied means satisfied on the balance of probabilities;
victim means a person who suffers injury, or who dies, as a consequence of the commission of an offence.
[Section 3 amended: No. 29 of 2004 s. 4; No. 28 of 2005 Sch. 3 cl. 3; No. 5 of 2008 s. 30; No. 21 of 2008 s. 655(2); No. 22 of 2008 Sch. 3 cl. 14; No. 35 of 2010 s. 54; No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]
For the purposes of this Act, a close relative of a victim who dies or is injured as a consequence of the commission of an offence, is a person who, immediately before the offence was committed, was —
a parent, grandparent or step‑parent of the victim; or
the spouse or a de facto partner of the victim; or
a child, grandchild or stepchild of the victim.
The presumptions of parentage in the Family Court Act 1997 Part 5 Division 11 Subdivision 3 operate, and section 193 of that Act operates in respect of those presumptions, for the purposes of this Act.
For the purposes of this Act a person is convicted of an offence notwithstanding that having been found guilty or convicted of the offence —
a spent conviction order made under the Sentencing Act 1995 section 39 applies to the conviction; or
a conviction is not recorded under the Young Offenders Act 1994 section 55; or
the complaint or indictment was dismissed under the repealed section 669(1)(a) of The Criminal Code; or
the repealed section 20 of the Offenders Community Corrections Act 1963 2 applies to the conviction; or
the repealed section 40 or 126A of the Child Welfare Act 1947 3 applies to the conviction; or
the charge was dismissed or the person was discharged under the repealed section 34 or 34B of the Child Welfare Act 1947 3; or
the complaint for the offence was dismissed under the repealed section 24 of the Children’s Court of Western Australia Act 1988.
For the purposes of this Act a person is convicted of an offence if the person, whether or not he or she is charged with the offence, is dealt with by a juvenile justice team under the Young Offenders Act 1994 Part 5 Division 2 for the offence.
In this section —
personal item means —
an item of clothing or footwear; or
spectacles, or contact lenses, used to correct eyesight; or
a hearing aid; or
artificial teeth; or
an artificial limb; or
a surgical appliance or implant used to correct or relieve a physical disability or medical condition; or
any other item prescribed by the regulations.
In the case of a victim who is injured, loss means —
expenses actually and reasonably incurred by or on behalf of the victim —
that arise directly from; or
that arise in obtaining any report from a health professional or a counsellor in relation to,
the injury suffered by the victim; or
expenses that are likely to be reasonably incurred by or on behalf of the victim for treatment that the victim is likely to need as a direct consequence of the injury suffered by the victim; or
loss of earnings suffered by the victim as a direct consequence of the injury suffered by the victim; or
any loss arising from any damage caused as a direct consequence of the commission of the offence to any personal item that was being worn by the victim when he or she suffered the injury.
In the case of a victim who dies, loss means any loss suffered by a close relative of the victim for which damages could be awarded to the relative under the Fatal Accidents Act 1959 if the death of the victim were caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another.
Subject to sections 42(3) and (4) and 68, this Act must be construed as being in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law.
The Courts and Tribunals (Electronic Processes Facilitation) Act 2013 Part 2 applies to this Act.
[Section 8A inserted: No. 20 of 2013 s. 43.]
This Act does not apply to or in relation to an offence that was committed before 22 January 1971.
A compensation application must be made within 3 years after the date on which —
the offence to which it relates was committed; or
if it relates to more than one offence, the last of them was committed.
Despite subsection (1), an assessor may allow a compensation application to be made after the 3 years if he or she thinks it is just to do so and may do so on any conditions that he or she thinks it is just to impose.
Any entitlement of a victim to compensation under this Act ceases on the death of the victim.
Any entitlement of a close relative of a deceased victim to compensation under this Act ceases on the death of the close relative.
Subsections (1) and (2) apply even if —
a compensation application is made by or on behalf of a victim or a close relative of a deceased victim before the death of the victim or close relative; or
a compensation award in favour of a victim or a close relative of a deceased victim is made after and in ignorance of the death of the victim or close relative.
A compensation application must be —
made in writing on a form approved by the Chief Assessor; and
given to the Chief Assessor.
If a person entitled to make a compensation application is —
under 18 years of age — the application may be made on his or her behalf by a parent, or a person acting in place of a parent, of the person;
a represented person within the meaning of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 — the application may be made on his or her behalf by the person’s guardian or administrator appointed under that Act.
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