New South Wales Consolidated Acts

NEW SOUTH WALES CRIME COMMISSION ACT 1985 - SECT 16

16 Power to summon witnesses and take evidence

(1) A member may summon a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing to give evidence and to produce such documents or other things (if any) as are referred to in the summons.

(1A) A summons under subsection (1) may require the immediate attendance of a person before the Commission if the member who issues the summons believes on reasonable grounds that delay in attendance might result in:

(a) the commission of an offence, or

(b) the escape of an offender, or

(c) the loss or destruction of evidence, or

(d) serious prejudice to the conduct of an investigation.

(2) A summons under subsection (1) requiring a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing shall be accompanied by a copy of the notice, or of each of the notices, by which the matter or matters to which the hearing relates was or were referred to the Commission by the Management Committee.

(3) A summons under subsection (1) requiring a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing shall, unless the Commission is satisfied that, in the particular circumstances of an investigation to which the hearing relates, it would prejudice the effectiveness of the investigation for the summons to do so, set out, so far as is reasonably practicable, the general nature of the matters in relation to which the Commission intends to question the person, but nothing in this subsection prevents the Commission from questioning the person in relation to any matter that relates to an investigation.

(4) The member presiding at a hearing before the Commission may require a person appearing at the hearing to produce a document or other thing.

(5) The Commission may, at a hearing, take evidence on oath or affirmation and for that purpose:

(a) a member may require a person appearing at the hearing to give evidence either to take an oath or to make an affirmation in a form approved by the member presiding at the hearing, and

(b) a member, or a person who is an authorised person in relation to the Commission, may administer an oath or affirmation to a person so appearing at the hearing.

(6) In this section, a reference to a person who is an authorised person in relation to the Commission is a reference to a person authorised in writing, or a person included in a class of persons authorised in writing, for the purposes of this section by the Commissioner.