“offender, in relation to a victim, means a person convicted of the crime or offence that affected the victim

“victim—

• “(a) means—

  • “(i) a person against whom an offence is committed by another person; and

  • “(ii) a person who, through, or by means of, an offence committed by another person, suffers physical injury or loss of, or damage to, property; and

  • “(iii) a parent or legal guardian of a child, or of a young person, who falls within subparagraph (i) or (ii), unless that parent or guardian is charged with the commission of, or convicted or found guilty of, or pleads guilty to, the offence concerned; and

  • “(iv) a member of the immediate family of a person who, as a result of an offence committed by another person, dies or is incapable, unless that member is charged with the commission of, or convicted or found guilty of, or pleads guilty to, the offence concerned; and

• “(b) despite paragraph (a), if an offence is committed by a person, does not include another person charged (whether as a principal or party or accessory after the fact or otherwise) with the commission of, or convicted or found guilty of, or who pleads guilty to,—

  • “(i) that offence; or

  • “(ii) an offence relating to the same incident or series of incidents as that crime or offence”.

• “(4) For the purposes of the definitions of offender and victim in subsection (1), the terms child, immediate family, incapable, offence, and young person have the meanings given in section 4 of the Victims' Rights Act 2002.”

• “(1A) To avoid any doubt, subsection (1)(e)(v) applies, without limitation, to the following proceedings:

  • “(a) an inquest held by a coroner for the purposes of Part 3 of the Coroners Act 2006; and

  • “(b) a hearing of the New Zealand Parole Board (other than one in a proceeding specified in section 6(c)(i)) that concerns an offender and is a hearing at which a victim may appear as of right or with the Board's leave.”

• “(8) Subsections (2) and (4)(a) and (b) do not apply to—

  • “(a) applications for legal aid in respect of victims' claims proceedings; or

  • “(b) applications for legal aid by a victim in respect of—

    • “(i) an inquest held by a coroner for the purposes of Part 3 of the Coroners Act 2006; or

    • “(ii) a hearing of the New Zealand Parole Board (other than one in a proceeding specified in section 6(c)(i)) that concerns an offender and is a hearing at which the victim may appear as of right or with the Board's leave; or

  • “(c) applications for legal aid by a person of a class specified in regulations as exempted from the application of subsections (2) and (4)(a) and (b); or

  • “(d) applications for legal aid in respect of a proceeding of a class specified in regulations as exempted from the application of subsections (2) and (4)(a) and (b).”

• “(d) applications for legal aid by a victim in respect of—

  • “(i) an inquest held by a coroner for the purposes of Part 3 of the Coroners Act 2006; or

  • “(ii) a hearing of the New Zealand Parole Board (other than one in a proceeding specified in section 6(c)(i)) that concerns an offender and is a hearing at which the victim may appear as of right or with the Board's leave; or

• “(e) applications for legal aid by a person of a class specified in regulations as exempted from the application of this section; or

• “(f) applications for legal aid in respect of a proceeding of a class specified in regulations as exempted from the application of this section.”

“36A Agency may decide not to recover debt in certain circumstances

• “(1) The Agency may decide not to recover any debt due to the Agency under a grant of legal aid if—

  • “(a) the enforcement of the debt would cause serious hardship to the aided person:

  • “(b) the cost to the Agency of enforcing the debt is likely to exceed the amount of the debt that is likely to be repaid:

  • “(c) the Agency considers that it would be just and equitable not to recover the debt.

  “(2) The Agency may make a decision under subsection (1) at the time that legal aid is granted, or at any time after it is granted.

  “(3) If the Agency decides under subsection (1) not to recover a debt,—

  • “(a) the debt must be treated as being written off for the purposes of section 37; and

  • “(b) section 37(2) to (5) apply accordingly.

  “(4) In subsection (1), serious hardship has the meaning given in section 37(6).”

• “(oa) exempting, in accordance with subsection (8), any specified class or classes of person or proceeding from the application of—

  • “(i) section 9(2) and (4)(a) and (b):

  • “(ii) section 15:”.

• “(8) No regulations may be made for the purposes of subsection (1)(oa) unless the Minister is satisfied that the proposed exemption is justified on 1 or more of the following grounds:

  • “(a) the proposed exemption is in the public interest:

  • “(b) the proposed exemption facilitates access to justice:

  • “(c) the proposed exemption is just and equitable in the circumstances.”