44Deciding whether applications involve related acts of

44 Deciding whether applications involve related acts of (1) This section applies if a person makes 2 or more separate applications for financial assistance under division 3.4 (Applications for financial assistance). (2) The commissioner must review the applications to work out if the applications are for acts of violence that occur in the course of a series of offences that are related. Examples—series of offences that are related 1 offences with same offender and same primary victim 2 contemporaneous or near contemporaneous offences (3) Acts of violence that occur in the course of a series of offences that are related must be treated as a single act of violence— (a) if the series of offences are, or are likely to be, part of a single ongoing offence; or (b) if the effect of treating each act of violence separately would result in the applicant receiving a total amount of financial assistance that would be disproportionately more than the amount of financial assistance that would be appropriate for the totality of harm suffered by the applicant as a result of the acts; or (c) in circumstances prescribed by regulation. (4) If the commissioner is satisfied that the acts of violence that are the subject of separate applications appear to be a single act of violence, the commissioner must give the applicant written notice— (a) that the separate applications for financial assistance appear to disclose a series of offences that are related, and that without further information suggesting otherwise the acts of violence occurring in the course of the offences must be treated as a single act of violence; and (b) asking the applicant to tell the commissioner, in writing, within 14 days after the notice is received, if there is a reason why the acts of violence should not be treated as a single act of violence. (5) After considering any reasons given by the applicant in response to notice under subsection (4) the commissioner must— (a) decide whether or not to treat the acts of violence as a single act of violence; and (b) tell the applicant, by written notice, the commissioner’s (6) If the commissioner decides to treat the acts of violence as a single act of violence, the separate applications are taken to be a single application for financial assistance.