6Who is a victim?

6 Who is a victim? (1) In this Act (other than division 3A.3A): victim means a person who suffers harm because of an offence and includes— (a) a person (the primary victim) who suffers harm— (i) in the course of, or as a result of, the commission of an offence; or (ii) as a result of witnessing an offence; and (b) a family member, of the primary victim, who suffers harm because of the harm to the primary victim; and (c) a person who is financially or psychologically dependent on the primary victim and who suffers harm because of the harm to the primary victim; and (d) the following people under the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 2016: (i) a primary victim; (ii) a related victim; (iii) a homicide witness; and (e) if a person mentioned for this definition is a child or legally incompetent person—a guardian of the child or legally incompetent person. (2) However, a victim does not include a person who suffers harm because of an offence he or she committed or is alleged to have committed.

Important concepts Part 2A guardian means— (a) for a child—a parent, a legally appointed guardian of the child or someone else with parental responsibility for the child under the Children and Young People Act 2008, division 1.3.2 (Parental responsibility); or (b) for a legally incompetent person—a person who is— (i) a legally appointed guardian of the legally incompetent person; or (ii) an attorney, appointed under an enduring power of attorney that has become operative, for the legally incompetent person. harm includes 1 or more of the following: (a) physical injury; (b) mental injury or emotional suffering (including grief); (c) pregnancy; (d) economic loss; (e) substantial impairment of a person’s legal rights. legally incompetent person means an adult who is subject to— (a) an enduring power of attorney that has become operative; or (b) a guardianship order.