Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2006

The Act defines a "violent act" in section 5 as a criminal act prescribed by regulation, or a series of related criminal acts, that occurs in the Territory and directly results in injury or death. Critically, the act includes conduct that would be a criminal offence but for the actor's age, mental impairment or other legal incapacity, or a lawful defence. A series of related criminal acts committed against the same person, occurring at approximately the same time or over a period by the same person or group, constitutes a single violent act. However, a criminal act for which financial assistance has already been awarded is not related to another act occurring after the date of the notice of that award. The definition of "injury" in section 6 includes physical illness or injury, recognisable psychological or psychiatric disorder, and pregnancy, but expressly excludes injury resulting from loss of or damage to property. "Compensable violent act" is a subset: a violent act under section 5(1)(a), that is, a criminal act prescribed by regulation. "Compensable injury" is an injury prescribed by regulation. The Regulations must prescribe a standard amount of financial assistance for each compensable violent act and compensable injury, which may be a specified amount or a range. The Act creates a hierarchy of victim categories. A primary victim under section 9 includes any person against whom a compensable violent act is committed regardless of injury, or any person against whom any other violent act is committed who suffers injury or dies. It also includes good Samaritans. A secondary victim under section 11 must be present at the scene and suffer injury from witnessing, or be a child/stepchild/guardianship child of the primary victim (or parent/guardian if the primary victim is a child) who suffers injury from subsequently becoming aware of the act. A family victim under section 13 is defined by specified relationships (spouse, de facto partner, parent, child, financial dependent) and does not need to suffer injury. A related victim under section 15 is a relative or intimate partner not falling within family victim, and may only access counselling. An "offender" means a person who committed or is alleged to have committed the violent act, which is important for Part 5 recovery proceedings where the Territory can sue even if no charges have been laid (section 56).

The Act directly affects victims of violent acts occurring in the Northern Territory, regardless of when the act occurred (section 74 applies the Act to applications even if the violent act happened before the commencement day). The victim categories are defined by relationship to the primary victim and the circumstances of the injury. Victims eligible for financial assistance include primary victims (the direct target or rescuer), secondary victims (witnesses or certain close relatives who suffer psychological injury), and family victims (relatives of a primary victim who died, claiming loss of financial support, medical expenses, or exceptional expenses). Related victims can only obtain counselling, not financial assistance. The Act also affects offenders, because Part 5 allows the Territory to recover the amount of financial assistance paid from persons found guilty of an offence that resulted in the payment, or even from persons alleged to have committed the offence but not charged (under the court process in section 56). Offenders may receive a debt recovery notice from the Director (section 55B) and can object to NTCAT on limited grounds: that the victim contributed to the injury or death, or that the financial assistance was excessive. The levy under section 61 applies to any person found guilty of an offence (but not imprisoned), those who expiate an offence via infringement notice, or against whom an enforcement order is made , this is a broad class covering most criminal offenders in the Territory, not just those convicted of violent offences. The levy is imposed regardless of any connection to the victim of the violent act that gave rise to the Fund. The Act also affects legal practitioners representing applicants: section 54 provides that a legal practitioner representing a person in an application under Division 3, 5 or 5A is not entitled to recover costs from the person except reasonable disbursements, and counsel's fees are excluded from disbursements. The Territory is not liable for any costs incurred by a person or legal practitioner in making such an application.

The Director of the Crime Victims Services Unit has duties to receive and process applications for interim payments (section 26), to give applications for awards to an assessor (section 33), and to issue debt recovery notices (section 55B). The Director may also approve counsellors and counselling organisations under section 21. Assessors , who include the Director, certain authorised Law Officers, and persons appointed by the Director , have the function of deciding applications for awards (section 34) and increased awards (section 46), and may require refunds (section 47). An assessor may defer a decision pending further information, a related civil or criminal proceeding, or a recovery proceeding under Part 5 (section 34(3)). The assessor may require the applicant to undergo a medical, psychological or psychiatric examination (section 35) and may decide not to award assistance if the applicant refuses without reasonable excuse. The assessor may also require any person to provide information or documents (section 36), with a penalty for non-compliance (20 penalty units for natural person, 100 for body corporate). Applicants have the right to apply for an award with no time limit (section 31), to apply for an interim payment before an award is decided (section 26), and to apply for an increased award within three years of payment (or within three years of turning 18 if a child at payment date) (section 46(1)). Applicants may withdraw an application at any time before it is decided (section 25A). A person with a genuine interest in the welfare of the eligible victim may apply on their behalf (section 25(5)). The Director must give written notice of decisions, including reasons, and the right to seek review by NTCAT (sections 27(6), 44, 46(7)). The Territory must pay approved interim payments and awards within 28 days (sections 29, 45, 46(10)). Offenders who receive a debt recovery notice have a right to object to NTCAT within 28 days on limited grounds (section 55D). The Director may close an application if the applicant is uncontactable after reasonable attempts over at least three months, but the applicant can request reopening within six months of closure (sections 47H, 47J, 47K). The Act preserves the victim's right to claim or recover compensation or damages under any other law, and a court in such proceedings must not take into account that financial assistance has been or may be paid (section 62).

The Act creates several offences. Under section 36(5), a person who without reasonable excuse contravenes a notice from an assessor to provide information or documents faces a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units for a natural person and 100 penalty units for a body corporate. Under section 44(3), a person who contravenes a requirement directed to them in a notice about the use or management of financial assistance (including a trust) faces a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units. Similarly, section 46(8) imposes the same penalty for contravening a requirement in a notice of increased award. Section 63 makes it an offence to hinder or obstruct a person exercising a power under the Act, or to knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information, with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment for a natural person, and 500 penalty units for a body corporate. The levy under section 61 is not a penalty per se but a compulsory impost on offenders. The levy amounts are: for an adult following prosecution on indictment , 200 revenue units; for any other adult offence , 150 revenue units; for a child , 50 revenue units; for a body corporate , 1,000 revenue units; and for infringement notice or enforcement order offences , 40 revenue units. A court must not reduce the levy or exonerate a person from liability to pay it (section 61(9)). Recovery of financial assistance from offenders is a central enforcement mechanism. Part 5 provides two routes: an administrative debt recovery notice process (Division 1) and a court proceeding (Division 2). Under the debt recovery notice route, the Director may give a notice to an offender requiring payment of an amount equal to or less than the total financial assistance paid, but only if the offender has been found guilty of an offence that resulted in the payment, and the notice is given within 3 years of the last of the payment or the finding of guilt (section 55B(4)). The notice must give at least 28 days to pay and specify joint and several liability if multiple offenders. If the offender fails to pay, the Director may refer the outstanding amount to the Fines Recovery Unit, which can enforce it under the Fines and Penalties (Recovery) Act 2001 as if it were an outstanding fine (section 55G). Under the court process, the Territory may commence a proceeding in the Local Court for recovery from an offender found guilty or even one merely alleged to have committed the offence. The Territory must prove on the balance of probabilities that the offender committed an offence that resulted in the payment (section 56(3)). The Court may reduce the amount if the offender proves victim contribution or if the assistance was excessive. No appeal lies to the Supreme Court from a decision under this Division (section 57). Refunds may also be required from recipients of financial assistance if they were not entitled, or if they later receive further payments of certain types after the assistance was paid (sections 47 and 47G). Refund amounts are debts owing to the Territory.

The Act expressly provides for interaction with the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Act 1979 and the Return to Work Act 1986. Section 17 prevents a person who suffers injury as a direct result of a violent act from applying as a primary victim for an interim payment or award for the same or substantially the same injury if the person is being paid or is entitled to a benefit under the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Act 1979. This applies even if the nature of the damage or loss for which the motor accident benefit is payable is different. The exclusion also extends to secondary victims and family victims of the same violent act , they are not eligible for interim payments or awards in connection with that act. However, the exclusion does not prevent the injured person or others from applying for counselling. Section 18 contains an analogous exclusion for workers who suffer injury as a direct result of a violent act and who are being paid or are entitled to compensation under the Return to Work Act 1986. Again, secondary and family victims are also excluded from interim payments or awards, but counselling remains available. The Act preserves the victim's common law and statutory rights to claim damages: section 62(1) provides that the Act does not affect the right to claim or recover compensation or damages under any other law. Section 62(2) directs that a court hearing an action for damages must not take into consideration that financial assistance has been or may be paid. This prevents double recovery while maintaining the victim's access to full tort damages. The Act interacts with the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014 through the review mechanism: NTCAT has jurisdiction to review reviewable decisions specified in Schedule 1 (section 48). Those decisions are: an assessor's decision on an award application, an increased award application, a refund requirement, the Director's decision on funeral expense assistance, and the Director's decision to require refund of funeral expense assistance. The Act also provides that certain documents are inadmissible in civil or criminal proceedings (section 64): an application for financial assistance and any other document prepared solely for the application and given to the Director or an assessor. Exceptions include review proceedings, criminal proceedings where the applicant is the defendant, proceedings for an offence against the Act, proceedings under Part 5 Division 2 (Territory recovery from offender in court), and proceedings where the person to whom the document principally refers has consented. The levy under section 61 is imposed on persons found guilty of any offence against a law in force in the Territory (not just offences under this Act), so it interacts with the entire criminal law of the Territory. The levy amounts are tied to "revenue units" as defined in the relevant legislation. The Act also provides that despite any other law, a person on whom a levy is imposed under the infringement notice or enforcement order route is not immune from prosecution unless both the amount specified in the notice/order and the levy are paid (section 61(7)).

The Act was originally enacted as the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2006 (Act No. 15 of 2006), assented 18 May 2006 and commenced 1 May 2007. It repealed the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act 1982 and related amending Acts. Since then, numerous amending acts have been passed. The Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2007 (No. 5, 2007) made significant changes, including substituting section 7 (compensable violent acts and injuries and standard amounts), amending the definition of primary victim and eligibility, and inserting provisions about standard amounts. The Law Reform (Work Health) Amendment Act 2007 (No. 30, 2007) amended section 18 to update references to the Return to Work Act 1986. The Justice Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 2007 (No. 32, 2007) amended section 61 (levy). The Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2010 (No. 21, 2010) amended section 61 again, and inserted transitional provisions. The Victims of Crime Assistance Amendment Act 2013 (No. 6, 2013) amended section 61 further and added transitional provisions. The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction Amendments) Act 2014 (No. 34, 2014) was a major structural change: it substituted the review mechanism from appeals to the Local Court to reviews by NTCAT, repealed former sections 49-53 which dealt with appeals, and inserted new transitional provisions (Part 9 Division 3). The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2015 (No. 9, 2015) updated references to the Return to Work Act. The Local Court (Related Amendments) Act 2016 (No. 8, 2016) amended section 43 to change "Supreme Court" to "Court" (Local Court). The Statute Law Revision Act 2017 (No. 4, 2017) made minor amendments. The most recent major amendment is the Victims of Crime Assistance Amendment Act 2023 (No. 30, 2023), which commenced 2 January 2024. This amendment substantially rewrote Part 4: it introduced the concept of "interim payment" (renamed from "immediate payment"), added a new Division 5A on funeral expense assistance (sections 47A-47G), added Division 5B on closure of applications if the applicant is uncontactable (sections 47H-47K), replaced the review provisions with a simpler reference to NTCAT and inserted Schedule 1 listing reviewable decisions, and added Part 5 Division 1 on the debt recovery notice process (sections 55A-55G) as an alternative to the court process. It also substituted section 19 to clarify the effect of death on applications and entitlement, and inserted section 25A allowing withdrawal of applications. The Domestic and Family Violence and Victims Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (No. 12, 2025), which partly commenced 1 July 2025, amended sections 8, 24 and 61.

The source text does not name any decided cases. The Act itself contains provisions that would generate litigation. Section 48 provides for review by NTCAT of the decisions listed in Schedule 1. The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014 governs the procedure for reviews, and decisions of NTCAT on these reviews may be appealed under section 141 of that Act. The Act specifically provides that no appeal lies to the Supreme Court from a decision of the Local Court in a recovery proceeding under section 56 (section 57). For the debt recovery notice process, section 55E(3) provides that an application for internal review under section 140 of the NTCAT Act cannot be made in relation to NTCAT's decision on an objection to a debt recovery notice, though an appeal under section 141 of that Act appears available. The transitional provisions in Part 9 Division 3 (from the 2014 amendments) deal with the shift from Local Court appeals to NTCAT review. For decisions notified before the commencement of that Division, the old appeal regime (to the Local Court) continues to apply. For decisions made after commencement, even if the application was lodged earlier, the new NTCAT regime applies. The Act's provisions on inadmissibility of documents (section 64) could be litigated in civil or criminal proceedings where a party seeks to use the application or supporting documents. The exceptions include proceedings under Part 5 Division 2, so in a recovery proceeding the Territory can use the applicant's documents. The criminal offence provision in section 63 (false or misleading information) could give rise to prosecutions of applicants or other persons. The refund provisions (sections 47 and 47G) may lead to NTCAT reviews if a recipient disputes a refund requirement. The requirement that the assessor must not award financial assistance if the violent act was not reported to police within a reasonable time (section 43(b)) could be contested in reviews where the applicant argues that circumstances prevented the report. The exclusion for motor accident and workers compensation payments (sections 17 and 18) may generate disputes about whether the same or substantially the same injury is involved, and whether the person is actually entitled to the other benefit.

Several provisions could trap unwary applicants and practitioners. Section 17 and 18 absolutely bar primary victims from receiving an interim payment or award for the same injury if they are paid or entitled to a benefit under the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Act 1979 or the Return to Work Act 1986. This applies even if the nature of the loss is different. Critically, it also bars secondary and family victims of the same violent act from any interim payment or award , so if a person is injured at work in a violent act and receives workers compensation, the worker's family cannot claim financial assistance as family victims, and any witness secondary victims are also barred. Only counselling remains available. Section 19 is a harsh provision: if a person who is eligible for or entitled to receive financial assistance dies, the eligibility does not survive for the benefit of the estate. If an applicant dies before the application is decided, the application lapses. If a person is entitled but dies before payment, the assistance is taken to have never been approved and the application lapses. This means estate planning is irrelevant; the money cannot be claimed by the deceased's estate. Section 43 contains mandatory bars on awarding financial assistance. The applicant must have reported the violent act to a police officer within a reasonable time, and must have done so before the assessor decides the application, unless circumstances prevented the report. The applicant must also have assisted police in the investigation or prosecution, including making a formal complaint or statement. If the injury or death occurred during the commission of an indictable offence by the applicant, no award can be made. Section 41 gives the assessor discretion to reduce an award based on the victim's behaviour, including past criminal activity, that contributed to the injury or loss, or if the applicant participated in the violent act, encouraged the offender, failed to mitigate, or if the award would benefit the offender due to a relationship. Section 42 mandates reduction by the amount of any payment received from any source for the compensable act, injury, death or loss , including insurance benefits, compensation from the offender, or benefits under any Act. Section 25(1) provides that an eligible victim may apply in only one category (primary, secondary or family) , you cannot claim as both a primary victim and a secondary victim for the same act. Section 25(2) prohibits more than one award for the same violent act. The time limit for funeral expense assistance is two years after death, although the Director may extend (section 47C). There is no time limit for awards, but interim payment applications cannot be made after the award is decided (section 26(2A)). The maximum award for a primary victim is $40,000 less any interim payment, with a sub-limit of $10,000 for financial loss. For secondary and family victims, the $40,000 cap is shared among all victims of the same act, with $10,000 per victim for financial loss, and proportionate reduction applies if total assessed exceeds the cap. For secondary victims who witnessed the death of a child primary victim, there is no shared cap with other secondary victims. For family victims, the assessor must be satisfied no other family victim is likely to apply (section 40(8)), with a safe harbour after three months from the latest application. Section 54 restricts legal costs: the practitioner cannot recover costs from the client except reasonable disbursements, and counsel's fees are excluded. This may affect a client's ability to obtain representation. The inadmissibility of documents under section 64 is not absolute , it does not apply in criminal proceedings where the applicant is the defendant, so an applicant's own statements could be used against them if they are charged with an offence related to the violent act.

For victims seeking assistance, the first step is to report the violent act to police as soon as reasonably possible. Section 43(b) and (c) require that the act be reported within a reasonable time and before the assessor decides the application, and the applicant must have assisted police in the investigation. Failure to do so bars the award. The applicant should obtain a copy of their police statement, as it must accompany the application for an award (section 32(3)(a)). Applications must be made in the approved form (section 8). For an award, the application must include information about the violent act, the offender if known, the date of the police statement, a description of injuries, the standard amount sought for compensable injuries, details of financial loss, and whether any other claims have been made under the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Act 1979 or Return to Work Act 1986 (section 32(1)). Supporting documents such as medical reports and invoices must be attached. The applicant should not apply in more than one victim category (section 25(1)). If the applicant has any relevant insurance or other entitlements, these must be disclosed because section 42 requires mandatory reduction of the award by any such payments received. The applicant should also consider whether they have received or are entitled to workers compensation or motor accident benefits, as sections 17 and 18 may entirely preclude financial assistance. If the applicant is in financial hardship, they can apply for an interim payment of up to $5,000 before the award is decided (section 26), but cannot apply after the award decision (section 26(2A)). The applicant should keep the Director and CVSU informed of current contact details; otherwise the application may be closed after three months of unsuccessful attempts to contact, with a 30-day notice (sections 47H-47J). If closed, the applicant can request reopening within six months (section 47K). After an award is paid, the applicant may apply for an increase within three years (or within three years of turning 18 if a child at payment) if the maximum has not been reached (section 46). If the applicant later receives any payment from another source for the same injury or loss (e.g. damages from the offender, insurance payout), they may be required to refund the financial assistance (section 47). Legal practitioners representing applicants must be aware of the cost restrictions in section 54: they cannot recover costs from the client beyond reasonable disbursements, and counsel's fees are excluded. The Territory is not liable for any costs incurred by the applicant or lawyer. For offenders, if a debt recovery notice is received under section 55B, the offender must pay within the specified period (at least 28 days) or object to NTCAT within 28 days on the limited grounds of victim contribution or excessive assistance. The offender may also face court proceedings under section 56 even if not found guilty, but the Territory must prove on balance of probabilities that the offender committed the offence. Offenders should be aware that the levy under section 61 applies to almost all criminal convictions and infringement notices, regardless of whether the offence is violent. The Minister may issue guidelines under section 65, and the Director and assessors must have regard to them when performing functions.