OFFICE OF CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION
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Chief Assessor's Report
2011/2012
The Honourable Michael Mischin, MLC
Attorney General of Western Australia
10
thFloor, Dumas House
2 Havelock St
WEST PERTH WA 6005
Dear Attorney General
STATUTORY REPORT - CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION 2010/11
Pursuant to section 62 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003 I submit my report on the
operation of the Office of Criminal Injuries Compensation for the year ending 30 June 2012.
Yours faithfully
H L Porter
CHIEF ASSESSOR OF CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION
25 September 2012
CONTENTS
OVERVIEW……….…..4 STATISTICAL PROFILE………...4 NEW APPLICATIONS……….5 CLAIMS FINALISED………5 NATURE OF OFFENCES………..6 GENDER OF RECIPIENTS..……….6MONETARY RANGE OF AWARDS……….7
INTERIM PAYMENTS……..……….…..7
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VICTIMS……….8
LEGAL REPRESENTATION.……….8
REASONS FOR REFUSALS……….9
FUTURE PAYMENTS PROVISION………10
APPEALS………11
REDUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTION………...11
PERFORMANCE MEASURES………11 ASSESSMENT TIME……….…11 OUTSTANDING APPLICATIONS………...…12 PROVISION OF REASONS……….…13 NEW DEVELOPEMENTS……….…13 RECOVERY OF DEBT……….….…14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS….. ……….….…14
OVERVIEW
The Office of Criminal Injuries Compensation is established pursuant to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003 (the Act) to compensate victims for injuries suffered as a consequence of an offence. Compensation can be awarded for bodily harm, mental and nervous shock, or pregnancy, resulting from an offence. Compensation is available for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of income and treatment expenses. The maximum amount payable is $75,000 for an offence committed in Western Australia after 1 January 2004 and lesser amounts for offences prior to that.
STAFF
The team at the Office consists of 3 full time assessors and 17.2 full time equivalent administrative employees, including staff working on recovery from convicted offenders (the Recoveries Office).
KEY DATA During 2011/2012,
2031 new applications for compensation were received, an increase of 6.5%. 1872 applications were accepted for processing, an increase of 12.2%. 1809 applications were finalised, an increase of 0.8%.
1624 awards were made totalling $32,463,313. The average award was $19,990.
126 applications were refused.
19 hearings were held into applications for compensation.
The caseload increased by 72 to 885 applications on hand, an increase of 8.8%. $1,700,486 of debt owed to the State was recovered, an increase of 26%.
STATISTICAL PROFILE
2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
New applications received 1563 1683 1907 2031
Accepted applications 1491 1628 1669 1872
Rejected applications 362 362 536 646
Resubmitted applications 290 307 298 487
Awards granted 1165 1253 1589 1624
Applications refused 96 89 102 126
Applications closed or discontinued 66 89 103 59
NEW APPLICATIONS RECEIVED
During 2011/12 new applications totalling 2031 were received. On 646 occasions applications were returned to the applicant for further work. Of the applications returned to the applicant, 487 were resubmitted on at least one occasion.
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND FINALISED 2008/09 to 2011/12
1563 1683 1907 2031 1327 1431 1794 1872 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y ear
Num ber of applications
New Applications Received Applications Finalised
CLAIMS FINALISED
CLAIMS FINALISED 2008/09 to 2011/12 1165 1253 1589 1624 96 89 102 126 66 89 103 59 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y earNum ber of applications
Granted Refused Closed/Discontinued
NATURE OF OFFENCES INVOLVED
The chart below illustrates the types of offences for which awards were made between2010/11 and 2011/12.
OFFENCES FOR WHICH AWARDS WERE MADE 2010/11 to 2011/12
784 185 157 99 91 193 37 22 11 10 0 820 202 116 98 102 215 35 15 7 9 5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 Assault Sexual Assault Robbery/Burglary Grievous Bodily Harm Unlaw ful Wounding Other Homicide Stalking/Threatening Dog attack Deprivation of Liberty Motor vehicle T y p e o f o ff e n c e
Num ber of aw ards
2011/12 2010/11
NUMBER OF MALES & FEMALES TO WHOM AWARDS WERE MADE
The following chart shows the gender of persons to whom awards were made and the number of adults and children involved. Overall, 52% of recipients were male and 48% female.
GENDER OF RECIPIENTS 2011/12
Number of awards made (total 1624)
Male Adult, 716, 44%
Female Adult, 588, 36% Male Child, 126, 8%
RANGE OF FINALISED APPLICATIONS
The chart below illustrates the monetary range of applications finalised during 2010/11 and 2011/12.
RANGE OF M ONETARY AWARDS 2010/11 and 2011/12
193 185 302 333 214 118 73 83 88 175 226 267 360 243 128 69 69 87 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 under $2 500 $2 500 - $5 000 $5 001 - $10 000 $10 001 - $20 000 $20 001 - $30 000 $30 001 - $40 000 $40 001 - $50 000 $50 001 - $75 000 over $75 000 A m o u n t o f a w a rd s ( $ )
Num ber of aw ards m ade (1624)
2011/12 2010/11
INTERIM PAYMENTS
An Assessor may authorise an interim or “up front” payment before the finalisation of a claim to a maximum of $2,250 for expenses incurred as a consequence of a death or injury. The table below shows the number of applicants to whom interim payments have been made.
INTERIM PAYMENTS MADE 2007/08 to 2011/12
126 163 158 99 72 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Year N u m b e r o f p a y m e n ts
PRIMARY & SECONDARY VICTIMS
PRIMARY & SECONDARY VICTIMS 2008/09 to 2011/12
Primary 1239 Primary 1343 Primary 1654 Primary 1639 Secondary 88 Secondary 88 Secondary 140 Secondary 170 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y ear
REPRESENTATION
The last 12 months has seen a slight increase in the proportion of applicants having legal representation.
REPRESENTATION 2008/09 to 2011/12 Self Represented Self Represented Self Represented Self Represented Represented by Law yer Represented by Law yer Represented by Law yer Represented by Law yer 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y ear
REFUSALS
During the year 2011/12, awards were refused on 126 applications for reasons detailed below:
Section of Act No of Refusals Reason for Refusal
9
10
11
1
Time expired, extension of time refused Entitlement ceases on death of victim
12 13 Assessor not satisfied applicant injured in the commission of a proved offence
13 16 Alleged offender acquitted 17 29 35 28 0 18
Assessor not satisfied applicant injured in the commission of an alleged offence
Assessor’s general discretion
Limitation of compensation for mental and nervous shock
36 1 No award if compensation likely to benefit offender
37 4 Injury caused by a motor vehicle 38 21 Applicant did not assist investigation,
apprehension or prosecution of offender 39
40
8 2
Victim engaged in criminal conduct *
Compensation previously awarded or refused 41 3 Behaviour etc. of victim to be considered
* 3 were decided before the decision on 9 February 2012 in Attorney General for Western Australia – v – Her Honour Judge Schoombee [2012] WASCA 29, see discussion on page 13.
FUTURE PAYMENTS PROVISION
As part of an award, an Assessor may make provision for future treatment costs which can be claimed by the applicant when relevant costs are incurred.
RANGE OF FUTURE PAYMENTS PROVISION 2011/12
152 208 43 20 6 2 0 50 100 150 200 250 Less than $1 000 $1 000 - $5 000 $5 001 - $10 000 $10 001 - $20 000 $20 001 - $30 000 $30000 + F u tu re p a y m e n t p ro v is io n ( $ )
Num ber of aw ards w ith a future paym ent provision (total 431)
Provision was made in 2011/12 for future payments of $1,350,671, increasing the total provision made under the Act since 1 July 2004 to $7,422,170. Of this provision, $308,720 was paid out in 2011/12 bringing the total paid since 1 July 2004 to $1,031,833.
Payment of expenses incurred after the date of the compensation award can only be made for expenses incurred up to 10 years after the date of the award or the date the applicant reached 18 years of age, whichever is the later.
FUTURE PAYMENT PROVISIONS 2007/08 to 2011/12
234 246 305 402 431 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y ear
APPEALS
During the year 24 appeals were lodged with the District Court following the determination of a compensation application. 60 appeals were finalised and of these 16 were successful, 16 were unsuccessful, 3 were abandoned and 25 were discontinued. In the previous financial year, 51 appeals were lodged and 10 were successful.
REDUCTIONS TO AWARDS FOR CONTRIBUTION
Section 41 of the Act requires that regard be had to “any behaviour, condition, attitude, or disposition of the victim that contributed, directly or indirectly, to the victim’s injury or death”, and allows the award to be refused or the amount of an award to be reduced in proportion to the contribution found to have occurred. Reductions for contributory behaviour, ranging from 10%to 50%, were made in 19 awards during 2011/12. Of these, 12 awards were reduced by 20% or less and 7 awards were reduced by over 20%.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Sep 11 Qtr Dec 11 Qtr Mar 12 Qtr Jun 12 Qtr Annual
479 442 426 525 1872 536 464 540 491 2031 504 387 473 445 1809 416 305 401 346 1468 53 37 20 40 150 35 45 52 59 191 6 8 4 1 19 791 856 807 885 885 619 690 650 742 742 51 50 44 57 57 121 116 113 86 86 641 604 671 602 2518 162 162 245 77 646 105 140 131 111 487
ASSESSMENT TIME
The average time taken to assess applications during 2011/12 was 4.4 months, a decrease in the assessment time from the average of 5.0 months in 2010/11.
Lodgements accepted New applications
Finalisations
39 weeks & less 39 to 52 weeks More than 52 weeks
Listings matters heard
Cases on hand
Less than 39 weeks 39 to 52 weeks More than 52 weeks
Applications New & Resub Applications Rejected Applications Resubmitted
Calculation of the assessment delay is based on the group of applications finalised in less than 12 months from receipt, based upon data which reveals that in cases in which the application takes more than 12 months to finalise, the delay is caused by external factors such as the need to complete treatment, delay in finalisation of the prosecution, and the need for the applicant to first exhaust all other avenues for compensation. The average assessment delay over all applications finalised in the period was 6.1 months.
ASSESSMENT TIME 2007/08 TO 2011/12 4.5 4.3 4.2 5.0 4.4 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 A ver ag e t im e t aken t o assess ap p li cat io n s (m o n th s )
OUTSTANDING APPLICATIONS
At 30 June 2012, 885 applications were on hand, an increase of 72, or 8.9%, over the preceding 12 months. The breakdown of the age of the cases on hand in the table below shows that the number of files which have been in the Office for more than 12 months has decreased by 27%. The proportion of the caseload represented by applications which have been in the Office under 9 months has increased to 84%. The proportion of cases aged between 9 and 12 months has increased and the proportion aged over 12 months has decreased. The number of files aged less than 9 months increased by 90 to 742 while the number of files aged over 9 months decreased to 143. These figures should be viewed in the context of an overall increase of 124 in the number of new applications during 2011/12 compared to the previous year.
APPLICATIONS ON HAND - 30 JUNE
559 758 652 742 77 51 43 57 114 134 118 86 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2008/09 (750) 2009/10 (943) 2010/11 (813) 2011/12 (885) Y e a r ( T o ta l o n h a n d ) Percentage of cases
PROVISION OF REASONS
An assessor is required to give written reasons for the making of an award when requested to do so and in all cases where the making of an award is refused. Where an assessor forms the view that by reason of the operation of the legislation an applicant is ineligible for compensation, the applicant may be advised in writing by letter of the reasons for that outcome, rather than in formal written reasons. Formal reasons for decision have been provided in 29 cases and in total, reasons have been provided in 144 cases, an increase of 20 on the previous year. The chart below sets out the breakdown of these reasons.
REASONS PROVIDED 2007/08 TO 2011/12 60 64 51 29 28 6 14 6 1 1 63 73 79 94 115 2007/08 (129) 2008/09 (151) 2009/10 (136) 2010/11 (124) 2011/12 (144) Y ear ( to tal r easo n s)
Formal reasons - aw ard Formal reasons - refusal Informal refusal letter
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Section 39 of the Act provides that an assessor may not award compensation to a person who was injured when he or she was committing a separate offence. On 9 February 2012 the Supreme Court, in Attorney General for Western Australia – v – Her Honour Judge Schoombee [2012] WASCA 29, clarified the interpretation of section 39 of the Act. The decision made it clear that the section required only a temporal and not a causal connection between the offence causing injury to the applicant and the separate offence committed by the applicant. Awards were made to 9 applicants for injury suffered as a consequence of the offence of child neglect. In each case the award was made pursuant to section 17 of the Act for an alleged offence, no prosecution of the alleged offender having occurred. A total of $188,167.00 was awarded, and the average amount of these awards was therefore $20,907.00.
Following the decision in Re Her Honour Judge Schoombee; Ex Parte Attorney General For Western Australia [2011] WASCA 129 in June 2011, 34 applications were lodged for injury suffered as a consequence of the driving or other use of a motor vehicle, and 5 awards have been made.
RECOVERY OF DEBT
A Compensation Reimbursement Order to recover the amount of an award from a convicted offender may be sought on the instructions of the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of the Attorney General.
REIMBURSEMENT ORDERS 2008/09 TO 2011/12 699 680 781 861 627 613 732 778 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Y ear Num ber
Applications for Reimbursement Orders Reimbursement Orders made
In 2011/12, $1,700,486 of debt owed to the State was recovered compared to the previous year’s total of $1,346,118 which represents a 26% increase.
