5   Act of violence

(1)  In this Act, act of violence means an act or series of related acts, whether committed by one or more persons:

(a)  that has apparently occurred in the course of the commission of an offence, and

(b)  that has involved violent conduct against one or more persons, and

(c)  that has resulted in injury or death to one or more of those persons.

(1A)  For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to an offence in subsection (1) (a) extends to conduct of a person that would constitute an offence were it not for the fact that the person cannot, or might not, be held to be criminally responsible for the conduct because of the person’s age or mental illness or impairment.

(2)  For the purposes of this section, violent conduct extends to sexual assault and domestic violence (as defined in the Dictionary).

(3)  Except as provided by subsections (3A) and (3B), a series of related acts is two or more acts that are related because:

(a)  they were committed against the same person, and

(b)  in the opinion of the Tribunal or compensation assessor:

(i)  they were committed at approximately the same time, or

(ii)  they were committed over a period of time by the same person or group of persons, or

(iii)  they were, for any other reason, related to each other.

(3A)  An act is not related to another act if, in the opinion of the Tribunal or compensation assessor, having regard to the particular circumstances of those acts, they ought not to be treated as related acts.

(3B)  An act is not related to any earlier act in respect of which an award of statutory compensation has been made if it occurs after the award was made.

(4)  For the purposes of this Act, a series of related acts, whether committed by one or more persons, constitutes a single act of violence.