16Victim impact statements in proceedings before Tribunal—the Act, s 30N(5)

16 Victim impact statements in proceedings before Tribunal—the Act, s 30N(5)

16 Victim impact statements in proceedings before Tribunal—the Act, s 30N(5)

(1) This section applies if the court gives the Tribunal a victim impact statement in relation to a forensic patient under the Act, section 30N(4).

(2) The Tribunal must—

(a) acknowledge the victim impact statement at each review of the forensic patient by the Tribunal, and

(b) consider and take into account the statement before determining an application by the forensic patient for release or a grant of leave.

(3) The victim may, with the consent of the Tribunal, update the victim impact statement.

(4) The Tribunal may disclose the contents of the victim impact statement to the forensic patient’s legal representative only in the circumstances in which, and subject to any conditions on which, the court permitted the disclosure.

(5) Despite subsection (4), if information in the victim impact statement was not disclosed by the court to the forensic patient’s legal representative or information is inserted in an updated victim impact statement, the Tribunal may, in the interests of justice, for the purposes of determining an application for release or a grant of leave, disclose the information to—

(a) the legal representative, or

(b) if the forensic patient does not have a legal representative—an Australian lawyer appointed by the Tribunal as the forensic patient’s legal representative for the purposes of the application.

(6) The Tribunal may—

(a) direct that the legal representative must not disclose the information referred to in subsection (5) to the forensic patient, and

(b) if the Tribunal makes a direction under paragraph (a)—consent to the legal representative disclosing general information about the statement to the forensic patient.