State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024
No. 35 of 2024
Version as at
25 September 2024
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
1 Purpose 1
2 Object 1
3 Commencement 1
4 Definitions 1
5 Causes of action—limit on amount of damages or other monetary compensation that may be awarded 3
7 Regulations 5
8 Regulations dealing with transitional matters 5
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Endnotes 7
1 General information 7
2 Table of Amendments 9
3 Explanatory details 10
Version No.001
State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024
No. 35 of 2024
Version as at
25 September 2024
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
1 Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to limit the civil liability of the State by providing for a maximum cumulative amount of damages or other monetary compensation in relation to the provision of information and other assistance by specified human sources.
2 Object
The object of this Act is to limit the extent to which the State is required to devote further financial resources to responding to the matters that were the subject of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants.
3 Commencement
This Act comes into operation on the day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
4 Definitions
In this Act—
cause of action means any claim seeking damages or other monetary compensation, whether in tort, in contract, in equity, under statute or common law or otherwise;
specified human source means—
(a) Nicola Maree Gobbo; or
(b) Joseph Acquaro;
State means the following—
(a) the State of Victoria as a legal person;
(b) a Minister of the Crown;
(c) Victoria Police, including—
(i) any person referred to in section 7 of the and any person who was previously a person referred to in that section; and
Victoria Police Act 2013
(ii) any person who was a member of the force within the meaning of member of the force as defined in the Police Regulation Act 1958 (now entitled the Police Regulation (Pensions) Act 1958) immediately before the commencement of section 278 of the Victoria Police Act 2013 or a former member of the force immediately before that commencement; and
(iii) any person who was a member of police personnel within the meaning of member of police personnel as defined in the Police Regulation Act 1958 (now entitled the Police Regulation (Pensions) Act 1958) immediately before that definition was repealed or a former member of police personnel immediately before that repeal;
Note
See clause 16 of Schedule 6 to the Victoria Police Act 2013.
(d) a body, whether corporate or unincorporate, that is established by or under an Act for a public purpose;
(e) a body established or appointed for a public purpose by the Governor in Council or by a Minister, otherwise than under an Act;
(f) a person holding, or who has held, an office or a position established by or under an Act;
(g) a person holding, or who has held, an office or a position to which that person was appointed by the Governor in Council or a Minister otherwise than under an Act;
(h) a public official within the meaning of section 4(1) of the Public Administration Act 2004, including any person who was previously a public official within the meaning of section 4(1) of that Act;
(i) any other prescribed entity;
Victoria Police has the same meaning as it has in the Victoria Police Act 2013.
5 Causes of action—limit on amount of damages or other monetary compensation that may be awarded
(1) The total maximum cumulative amount of damages or other monetary compensation that may be awarded to a person in respect of any and all causes of action against the State relating to, arising from or in connection with the provision of information or other assistance to Victoria Police by a specified human source must not exceed $1 000 000.
(2) Subsection (1) applies—
(a) irrespective of whether the provision of information or other assistance to Victoria Police by a specified human source—
(i) was provided at the request of, or with the encouragement of, Victoria Police; or
(ii) was provided in circumstances where the specified human source was registered with Victoria Police as a human source; or
(iii) assisted Victoria Police or any other law enforcement agency in any investigation; and
(b) irrespective of the motivation, intention or purpose of—
(i) the specified human source in providing the information or other assistance; or
(ii) Victoria Police in receiving the information or other assistance; and
(c) in relation to any cause of action that—
(i) subject to subsection (3), accrued before, on or after the commencement of this Act; or
(ii) is the subject of a proceeding that has commenced on or before the commencement of this Act but has not been finally determined on that commencement.
(2A) Nothing in this section—
(a) increases the maximum amount of damages available for non-economic loss that is specified in section 28G of the Wrongs Act 1958; or
(b) affects any power of a court to order costs in a proceeding; or
(c) affects any power of a court to grant an indemnity certificate under the Appeal Costs Act 1998.
(3) This section does not apply to any cause of action in respect of which a proceeding has been finally determined before the commencement of this Act.
7 Regulations
(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for or with respect to any matter or thing required to be prescribed by this Act or necessary to be prescribed to give effect to this Act.
(2) The regulations—
(a) may be of general or limited application; and
(b) may differ according to differences in time, place or circumstance.
8 Regulations dealing with transitional matters
(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations containing provisions of a transitional nature, including matters of an application or savings nature, arising as a result of the enactment of this Act, including any repeals and amendments made by this Act.
(2) Regulations made under this section may—
(a) have a retrospective effect to a day on or from the day on which this Act received the Royal Assent; and
(b) be of limited or general application; and
(c) leave any matter or thing to be decided by a specified person or class of person; and
(d) provide for the exemption of persons or things or a class of persons or things from any of the regulations made under this section.
(3) Regulations made under this section have effect despite anything to the contrary—
(a) in any Act other than this Act; or
(b) in any subordinate instrument.
(4) This section is repealed on the second anniversary of the day on which it comes into operation.
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Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 14 August 2024
Legislative Council: 11 September 2024
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to limit the civil liability of the State by providing for a maximum cumulative amount of damages or other monetary compensation which may be awarded in causes of action in relation to the provision of information and other assistance by specified human sources and for other purposes."
The State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024 was assented to on 24 September 2024 and came into operation on 25 September 2024: section 3.
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided section or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subsections or subclauses, the original section or clause becomes subsection or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original section or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any heading inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; sections; clauses; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. See section 36(1A)(2A).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Act. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 forms part of that Act. Any punctuation inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in an Act form part of that Act, whether inserted in the Act before, on or after 1 January 2001. Provision numbers include section numbers, subsection numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of an Act is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of an Act.
See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
There are no amendments made to the State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024 by Acts and subordinate instruments.