Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related
Compensation) Act 2015
No. 22 of 2015
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section
1 Purpose
2 Commencement
3 New Part VBAA inserted
4 Repeal of amending Act
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Endnotes
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Page
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General information
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Victoria
Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related
Compensation) Act 2015†
No. 22 of 2015
[Assented to 16 June 2015]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
1 Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to amend the Wrongs
Act 1958 to restrict the amount of damages that
may be awarded for non-economic loss in respect
of mental harm caused by the death or injury of a
prisoner if as an adult the claimant has been
convicted of an offence, in particular, a profit
motivated offence.
2 Commencement
This Act comes into operation on the day after the
day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
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Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related Compensation) Act 2015
No. 22 of 2015
3 New Part VBAA inserted
After Part VB of the Wrongs Act 1958 insert—
"Part VBAA—Awards of damages
related to death or injury of
prisoners
28LAD Definitions
In this Part—
claimant means a person who makes, or is
entitled to make, a claim for the
recovery of damages for non-economic
loss in respect of mental harm caused
by the death or injury of a prisoner;
court includes tribunal, and, in relation to a
claim for damages, means any court or
tribunal by or before which the claim
falls to be determined;
criminal record, in relation to a person,
means a document that sets out—
(a) all the person's previous
convictions; and
(b) in relation to each previous
conviction—
(i) the date of the conviction;
and
(ii) the court in which the
conviction took place; and
(iii) the place of sitting of that
court; and
(iv) the offence committed; and
(v) the sentence imposed;
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Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related Compensation) Act 2015
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Crown Prosecutor has the same meaning as
in the Criminal Procedure Act 2009;
damages includes any form of monetary
compensation;
legal practitioner has the same meaning as
in the Criminal Procedure Act 2009;
mental harm means psychological or
psychiatric injury;
non-economic loss means any one or more
of the following—
(a) pain and suffering;
(b) loss of amenities of life;
(c) loss of enjoyment of life;
police officer has the same meaning as in the
Victoria Police Act 2013;
prisoner means a person referred to in
section 28LAE(1)(a);
profit motivated offence means—
(a) an offence referred to in
Schedule 2 to the Confiscation
Act 1997, and if circumstances
are specified in that Schedule in
relation to that offence, means an
offence committed in those
circumstances; or
(b) an offence that, at the time it was
committed, was an offence
referred to in Schedule 2 to the
Confiscation Act 1997, and if
circumstances were specified in
that Schedule in relation to that
offence, means an offence
committed in those circumstances.
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Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related Compensation) Act 2015
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28LAE Application of Part
(1) This Part applies to an award of damages for
non-economic loss in respect of mental harm
if—
(a) the mental harm is caused by the death
or injury of a person who was, when
the death or injury occurred, the subject
of—
(i) a sentence of imprisonment
imposed by a court; or
(ii) a preventative detention order
within the meaning of the
Terrorism (Community
Protection) Act 2003 or an order
for a person's detention made
under a corresponding
preventative detention law within
the meaning of that Act; or
(iii) a detention order or interim
detention order within the
meaning of the Serious Sex
Offenders (Detention and
Supervision) Act 2009; and
(b) the claimant, as an adult, has been
convicted of an offence.
(2) This Part applies in addition to any other
provision of this Act applicable to an
award of damages of a kind described in
subsection (1).
(3) If there is an inconsistency between a
provision of this Part and a provision of any
other Part of this Act, the provision of this
Part prevails to the extent of the
inconsistency.
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28LAF Assessment of damages
(1) In determining an award of damages to
which this Part applies, the jury or the court
if the trial is without a jury, must—
(a) consider the factors set out in
subsection (2); and
(b) having regard to those factors, reduce
the amount of damages—
(i) in the case of a claimant who has
been convicted of an offence other
than a profit motivated offence—
by a percentage that the jury or the
court (as the case requires)
considers appropriate;
(ii) in the case of a claimant who has
been convicted of an offence that
is a profit motivated offence—by
a percentage that the jury or the
court (as the case requires)
considers appropriate, being a
percentage that is not less than
90 per cent.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the
factors are—
(a) the number and seriousness of the
claimant's previous convictions; and
(b) the nature of the relationship between
the claimant and the prisoner including
any agreement, arrangement or
understanding with respect to criminal
activity; and
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(c) the relationship (if any) between the
conduct constituting an offence for
which the claimant has been convicted
and the conduct constituting an offence
for which the prisoner has been
convicted; and
(d) the claimant's character, behaviour or
attitude at any time, whether before,
during or after the commission of an
offence for which the claimant has been
convicted, including any evidence of
rehabilitation, remorse or subsequent
offending; and
(e) any other factor that the court considers
relevant.
(3) The jury or the court (as the case requires)
may determine a reduction of 100 per cent,
with the result that the claim for damages is
defeated.
(4) The jury or the court (as the case requires)
must specify the percentage by which the
amount of damages is reduced under this
Part.
(5) Except as provided by this Part, nothing in
this Part affects any other law relating to the
discounting of sums awarded as damages.
28LAG Criminal record
(1) For the purposes of this Part, the court may
require the production of a claimant's
criminal record.
(2) A claimant's criminal record is inadmissible
as evidence unless it is signed by—
(a) a police officer; or
(b) a Crown Prosecutor; or
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Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related Compensation) Act 2015
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(c) a member of staff of the Office of
Public Prosecutions established under
the Public Prosecutions Act 1994 who
is a legal practitioner.
Note
Section 178 of the Evidence Act 2008 provides for proof of
previous convictions by the filing of a certificate.
28LAH Transitional
(1) This Part applies to an award of damages
irrespective of when the act or omission
causing the death or injury and giving rise to
the claim for the recovery of damages
occurred.
(2) Despite section 14(2) of the Interpretation
of Legislation Act 1984, this Part applies to
an award of damages in a proceeding that
immediately before the commencement of
the Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related
Compensation) Act 2015 has commenced
but has not been finally determined.".
4 Repeal of amending Act
This Act is repealed on the first anniversary of its
commencement.
Note
The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of
the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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Endnotes
Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current
authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
†
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 6 May 2015
Legislative Council: 28 May 2015
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the
Wrongs Act 1958 to restrict the amount of damages that may be awarded
for non-economic loss in respect of mental harm caused by the death or
injury of a prisoner if as an adult the claimant has been convicted of an
offence and for other purposes."
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