Queensland Consolidated Acts Queensland Consolidated Acts(1) A victim of a prescribed offence is to be permitted to give the prosecutor for the offence details of the harm caused to the victim by the offence, for the purpose of the prosecutor informing the relevant sentencing court.
Note--
If the offender's mental condition relating to the offence is referred to the Mental Health Court under the Mental Health Act 2000, see section 284 of that Act for the information a victim of the offence may give that court to help it make a decision on the reference.
(2) The prosecutor may continue with the sentencing proceeding without having received details of the harm if it is reasonable to do so in the circumstances, having regard to--
(a) the interests of justice; or
(b) whether permitting the details of harm to be given would unreasonably delay the sentencing of the offender; or
(c) anything else that may adversely affect the reasonableness, or the practicality, of permitting details of the harm to be given.
(3) If details of the harm are given to the prosecutor, the prosecutor is to--
(a) decide what (if any) details are appropriate to be given to the sentencing court; and
(b) give the appropriate details to the sentencing court, whether or not in the form of a victim impact statement given under subsection (5).
Note--
In sentencing the offender, the sentencing court must have regard to the harm done to, or impact of the offence on, the victim under--
(a) the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, section 9(2)(c)(i); or
(b) if the offender is a child--the Juvenile Justice Act 1992, section 150(1)(h).
(4) In deciding what details are not appropriate, the prosecutor may have regard to the victim's wishes.
(5) Details of the harm may be given to the prosecutor in the form of a victim impact statement prepared by--
(a) the victim; or
(b) someone else if the victim can not give the statement because of the victim's age or impaired capacity.
(6) The fact that details of the harm caused to a victim by the offence are absent at the sentencing does not of itself give rise to an inference that the offence caused little or no harm to the victim.
(7) To remove any doubt, it is declared that it is not mandatory for a victim to give the prosecutor details of the harm caused to the victim by the offence.
(8) The sentencing court is to decide if, and how, details of the harm are to be given to the court in accordance with the rules of evidence and the practices and procedures applying to the court.
Examples of how details of harm may be given to sentencing court--
production of victim impact statement to the sentencing court
victim reading details of harm aloud before the sentencing court
(9) In this section--
victim impact statement means a written statement that--
(a) is signed and dated; and
(b) states the particulars of the harm caused to a victim by an offence; and
(c) may have attached to it--
(i) documents supporting the particulars, including, for example, medical reports; or
(ii) photographs, drawings or other images.