Power Simon: Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Power Simon: Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 20 October 2009. Volume:658;Page:7331. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. The bill provides for a $50 levy to be imposed on all convicted offenders when they are sentenced in the District Court and the High Court for one or more criminal convictions. The purpose of the bill is to ensure that offenders in a general sense contribute towards addressing the harm that criminal behaviour causes to victims. In 2008 only 15 percent of the estimated 120000 sentences that were imposed included a component of reparation. Revenue generated from the offender levy an estimated $13.6 million over the first 4 years will be used to fund additional entitlements and services for victims of serious crime. I wish to thank Ministry of Justice officials for the considerable amount of work that has gone into this legislation by the ministry. 
Last Friday I was very pleased to announce to the Victim Support conference that eight new entitlements and services for the victims of crime will be funded from the offender levy. Five of those eight will be administered and run by Victim Support. The implementation of the new entitlements and services will be phased in over the next 9 months and some services will begin before the legislation comes into force because of the availability of Sentencing Council funding to support the revenue to be generated by the offender levy. 
Four of the new entitlements and services will provide further assistance to the families of homicide victims. First the families of homicide victims will be able to claim up to $10000 an extra $4500 on top of the current entitlement to pay for costs associated with their family member’s funeral. As I said it is an additional $4500 over and above what is currently available to them through the accident compensation scheme. Second the existing Government-funded discretionary grant for the families of homicide victims who are suffering financial hardship which is administered by Victim Support will be increased from $1500 to up to $5000. The eligibility for it has also been expanded. 
Third a new homicide support service will be established. These new paid staff will be managed by Victim Support and will build on its existing volunteer network to provide nationwide assistance to the families of homicide victims. The service will provide practical and emotional support to families from the discovery of the homicide throughout the court process and beyond that time. This will ensure that the families of homicide victims have a central point of contact during their interaction with the justice sector and have a reliable ongoing source of support and advice. The fourth entitlement for the families of homicide victims is a new grant to support families attending High Court proceedings for those accused of killing their family member. Up to five family members will be able to claim $124 each for every day that they attend court. That is double the rate paid to jurors. This grant will help to mitigate the financial impact of families having to take time off work to attend a trial. 
Two of the new entitlements and services to be funded from the offender levy will assist the victims of sexual violence in particular. A new sexual violence court support service will be established to support the victims of sexual violence during court proceedings. Victims of sexual violence report being traumatised and re-victimised by the justice process. It is our goal to ensure that the court system is responsive to the specific needs of those victims. The second initiative for the victims of sexual violence is a new discretionary grant that will assist victims with the modest one-off expenses associated with the justice process such as the loss of clothing due to forensic testing. This Government recognises that the emotional and physical impacts of sexual violence are often compounded by the financial costs associated with the crime. This new grant will provide a starting point of $250 to contribute to victims’ immediate costs. 
The last two entitlements and services will support all victims of serious crime. The Government-funded travel assistance scheme which is administered by Victim Support will be increased to better cover the costs of victims of serious crime when travelling to court proceedings and their associated expenses. For travel to court victims will be able to claim up to $3000. For travel to Parole Board hearings victims will be able to claim up to $1500. That is three times the current amount of the scheme. 
Finally new information resources will be produced for the victims of serious crime. This will assist crime victims to navigate their way through the court process and will hopefully inform them about the services and support that are available to them. I am confident that these new entitlements and services will make a real difference in the lives of the victims of crime. 
I am not ashamed to say the Government is proud of what we have been able to deliver in this case in a very short period of time. I do not pretend and nor does the Government that it will take away the pain of the loss or injury that the victims of crime suffer but we hope it will help in some way to smooth the path towards resolution. My hope is that this is just the beginning of reform in this area. It is these types of new services and assistance for victims that members should bear utmost in their minds when they deliberate for the final time on this bill. It is after all a means to a worthy end. I commend this bill to the House.