South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts45B—Admission of certain documents in evidence
(1) An apparently
genuine document purporting to contain a statement of fact, or written,
graphical or pictorial matter in which a statement of fact is implicit, or
from which a statement of fact may be inferred shall, subject to this section,
be admissible in evidence.
(2) A document shall
not be admitted in evidence under this section where the court is not
satisfied that the person by whom, or at whose direction, the document was
prepared could, at the time of the preparation of the document have deposed of
his own knowledge to the statement that is contained or implicit in, or may be
inferred from, the contents of the document.
(3) A document shall
not be admitted in evidence under this section if the court is of the
opinion—
(a) that
the person by whom, or at whose direction, the document was prepared can and
should be called by the party tendering the document to give evidence of the
matters contained in the document; or
(b) that
the evidentiary weight of the document is slight and is outweighed by the
prejudice that might result to any of the parties from the admission of the
document in evidence; or
(c) that
it would be otherwise contrary to the interests of justice to admit the
document in evidence.
(4) In determining
whether to admit a document in evidence under this section, the Court may
receive evidence by affidavit of any matter pertaining to the admission of
that document in evidence.
(5) For the purpose of
determining the evidentiary weight, if any, of a document admitted in evidence
under this section, consideration shall be given to the source from which the
document was produced, the safeguards (if any) that have been taken to ensure
its accuracy, and any other relevant matters.
(6) In this
section—
"document" means—
(a) any
original document; or
(b) any
reproduction of an original document by photographic, photostatic or
lithographic or other like process.