Diamantis v VCFC [2002] NSWDC 18

New South Wales District Court

CITATION : Diamantis v VCFC [2002] NSWDC 18 TRIBUNAL : Victims Compensation Tribunal PARTIES : Panagiotis Diamantis Victims Compensation Fund Corporation FILE NUMBER(S) : 561 of 2002 CORAM: CATCHWORDS: s30 LEGISLATION CITED: Victims Support and Rehabilitation Act 1996 CASES CITED: Australian Coal and Shale Employees Federation and Another v The Commonwealth (1956) 94 CLR 620; House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 504 DATES OF HEARING: 10 May 2002 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10 May 2002

JUDGMENT:

HIS HONOUR JUDGE BLACK: This is an application for leave to appeal on a question of law against a determination of the Victims Compensation Tribunal given on 1 November 2001. I have already given leave for this matter to be argued out of time. The determination is set out in three pages on 1 November 2001 and the result of it was that the chairperson declined to make an award in favour of the appellant pursuant to section 30(1)(b) of the Victims Support and Rehabilitation Act 1996. Section 30(1) provides: "In determining whether or not to make an award of statutory compensation and in determining the amount of compensation to award the compensation assessor must have regard to the following: (b) provides whether the act of violence was reported to a police officer within a reasonable time."

It is to be noted that the chairperson was obliged by the statute to consider that matter. Subsection (2) in relation to the previous (b) provides as follows:

"In determining whether a matter relating to a victim was reported to a police officer within a reasonable time the compensation assessor may have regard to such matters as the assessor considers relevant including the following."