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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
House of Assembly—No 102
As laid on the table and read a first time, 4 May 2005
South Australia
Victims
of Crime (Legal Costs and Disbursements) Amendment Bill 2005
A Bill For
An Act to amend the Victims of Crime Act 2001.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Victims of
Crime Act 2001
4 Amendment of section 25—Legal costs
and disbursements
5 Substitution of Schedule 2
Schedule
2—Disbursements
1 Interpretation
2 Recovery of disbursements if
application made to court
3 Recovery of
disbursements if claim agreed without application to court
The Parliament of South Australia enacts
as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Victims of Crime (Legal Costs and
Disbursements) Amendment Act 2005.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the
amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment of Victims of Crime Act 2001
4—Amendment of section 25—Legal costs and disbursements
Section 25—after
subsection (2) insert:
(2a) Schedule
2 applies to the determination and recovery of disbursements in proceedings
under this Act.
Schedule 2—delete the Schedule and
substitute:
Schedule 2—Disbursements
1—Interpretation
In this Schedule—
allied health practitioner means a health practitioner other than a
dentist or medical practitioner;
dentist means a person who is registered in this
or any other State or a Territory of the Commonwealth as a dentist;
hospital report, in relation to a victim, means the record of the victim's
hospitalisation, condition and treatment while in hospital, and the diagnostic,
medical and surgical procedures carried out while in hospital, and includes any
summary of the victim's treatment and condition made on the victim's discharge
from hospital;
medical practitioner means a person who is registered in this
or any other State or a Territory of the Commonwealth as a medical
practitioner;
medical specialist means a medical practitioner who is
registered in this or any other State or a Territory of the Commonwealth as a
specialist in a particular branch of medicine;
psychiatrist means a medical specialist whose
specialty is psychiatry.
2—Recovery
of disbursements if application made to court
(1) If
an application for statutory compensation is made to the court, the claimant
may recover disbursements certified by the court to have been reasonably
incurred in connection with the application.
(2) However—
(a) the cost of obtaining—
(i) a hospital report
that is longer than 20 pages; or
(ii) a report from a medical specialist (other than a
psychiatrist) before the end of the period for negotiation; or
(iii) a report from more than 1 expert in the same field of
expertise,
may only be recovered if the Crown Solicitor gave prior
approval or the court is satisfied that the report was necessary for the proper
determination of the matter; and
(b) the cost of obtaining a report from an allied health
practitioner may only be recovered if the Crown Solicitor gave prior approval
or the court is satisfied that the report of a medical practitioner or dentist
would not provide the court with the evidence necessary for the proper
determination of the matter.
3—Recovery
of disbursements if claim agreed without application to court
(1) If
an application for statutory compensation is agreed between the claimant and
the Crown Solicitor without an application being made to the court, the
claimant may recover disbursements certified by the Crown Solicitor to have
been reasonably incurred in connection with the application.
(2) However—
(a) the cost of obtaining—
(i) a hospital report
that is longer than 20 pages; or
(ii) a report from a medical specialist (other than a
psychiatrist) before the end of the period for negotiation; or
(iii) a report from more than 1 expert in the same field of
expertise,
may only be recovered if the Crown Solicitor gave prior
approval; and
(b) the cost of obtaining a report from an allied health
practitioner may only be recovered if the Crown Solicitor gave prior approval,
having regard to—
(i) the nature of the
claimant's injury; and
(ii) the qualifications and field of practice of the allied
health practitioner; and
(iii) whether the claimant has obtained, or proposes to obtain, a
report from a medical practitioner or dentist; and
(iv) whether the claimant was referred to the allied health
practitioner for treatment by a medical practitioner; and
(v) whether a report from a medical practitioner or dentist
would avoid the need for a report from the allied health practitioner; and
(vi) the estimated cost of the report from the allied health
practitioner; and
(vii) any other matter that, in the circumstances, may compromise
(or give the appearance of compromising) the independence of the allied health
practitioner or undermine the reliability of the report.
(3) The
Victims of Crime Co-ordinator may, on application by a claimant who is
aggrieved by a determination of the Crown Solicitor concerning the recovery of
a disbursement, review that determination.
(4) The Victims of Crime Co-ordinator may confirm or vary the Crown Solicitor's determination and the determination of the Victims of Crime Co-ordinator is not subject to further review or appeal in any court.