(c) makes consequential amendments to certain Acts. 2 Commencement s. 2 (1) This Charter (except Divisions 3 and 4 of Part 3) comes into operation on 1 January 2007. (2) Divisions 3 and 4 of Part 3 come into operation on 1 January 2008. 3 Definitions (1) In this Charter— Aboriginal means a person belonging to the indigenous peoples of , including the indigenous inhabitants of the , and any descendants of those peoples; act includes a failure to act and a proposal to act; Charter means the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities; child means a person under 18 years of age; S. 3(1) def. of Commission amended by No. 16/2010 s. 209(Sch. item 1.1). Commission means the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010; S. 3(1) def. of court amended by No. 77/2008 s. 129(Sch. 2 item 5). court means the Supreme Court, the County Court, the Magistrates' Court, the Children's Court or the ; declaration of inconsistent interpretation means a declaration made by the Supreme Court under section 36(2);
S. 3(1) def. of trial inserted by No. 68/2009 s. 97(Sch. item 18.1). trial, in relation to the Magistrates' Court or the Children's Court, means hearing of a charge; S. 3(1) def. of Victoria Police substituted by No. 37/2014 s. 10(Sch. item 15). Victoria Police has the same meaning as in the Victoria Police Act 2013. (2) In this Charter— (a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty; and (b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty. 4 What is a public authority? s. 4 (1) For the purposes of this Charter a public authority is— (a) a public official within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004; or Note to s. 4(1)(a) amended by No. 6/2014 s. 14. Note A public official under the Public Administration Act 2004 includes employees of the public service, including the Head of a government department or an Administrative Office (such as the Secretary to the Department of Justice or the Chairman of the Environment Protection Authority) and the Victorian Public Sector Commissioner. It also includes the directors and staff of certain public entities, court staff, parliamentary officers and holders of certain statutory or prerogative offices. (b) an entity established by a statutory provision that has functions of a public nature; or Notes
(4) Any person convicted of a criminal offence has the right to have the conviction and any sentence imposed in respect of it reviewed by a higher court in accordance with law. 26 Right not to be tried or punished more than once s. 26 A person must not be tried or punished more than once for an offence in respect of which he or she has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with law. 27 Retrospective criminal laws (1) A person must not be found guilty of a criminal offence because of conduct that was not a criminal offence when it was engaged in. (2) A penalty must not be imposed on any person for a criminal offence that is greater than the penalty that applied to the offence when it was committed. (3) If a penalty for an offence is reduced after a person committed the offence but before the person is sentenced for that offence, that person is eligible for the reduced penalty. (4) Nothing in this section affects the trial or punishment of any person for any act or omission which was a criminal offence under international law at the time it was done or omitted to be done. __________________ Division 1—Scrutiny of new legislation 28 Statements of compatibility s. 28 (1) A member of Parliament who proposes to introduce a Bill into a House of Parliament must cause a statement of compatibility to be prepared in respect of that Bill.