Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Evidence Act 2008 - SECT 48

Proof of contents of documents

48. Proof of contents of documents



(1) A party may adduce evidence of the contents of a document in question by
tendering the document in question or by any one or more of the following
methods-

   (a)  adducing evidence of an admission made by another party to the
        proceeding as to the contents of the document in question;

   (b)  tendering a document that-

   (i)  is or purports to be a copy of the document in question; and

   (ii) has been produced, or purports to have been produced, by a device that
        reproduces the contents of documents;

   (c)  if the document in question is an article or thing by which words are
        recorded in such a way as to be capable of being reproduced as sound,
        or in which words are recorded in a code (including shorthand
        writing)-tendering a document that is or purports to be a transcript
        of the words;



   (d)  if the document in question is an article or thing on or in which
        information is stored in such a way that it cannot be used by the
        court unless a device is used to retrieve, produce or collate
        it-tendering a document that was or purports to have been produced by
        use of the device;

   (e)  tendering a document that-

   (i)  forms part of the records of or kept by a business (whether or not the
        business is still in existence); and

   (ii) is or purports to be a copy of, or an extract from or a summary of,
        the document in question, or is or purports to be a copy of such an
        extract or summary;

   (f)  if the document in question is a public document-tendering a document
        that is or purports to be a copy of the document in question and that
        is or purports to have been printed-

   (i)  by a person authorised by or on behalf of the Government to print the
        document or by the Government Printer of the Commonwealth or by the
        government or official printer of another State or a Territory; or

   (ii) by the authority of the Government or administration of the State, the
        Commonwealth, another State, a Territory or a foreign country; or

   (iii) by authority of an Australian Parliament, a House of an Australian
        Parliament, a committee of such a House or a committee of an
        Australian Parliament.

(2) Subsection (1) applies to a document in question whether the document in
question is available to the party or not.

(3) If the party adduces evidence of the contents of a document under
subsection (1)(a), the evidence may only be used-

   (a)  in respect of the party's case against the other party who made the
        admission concerned; or

   (b)  in respect of the other party's case against the party who adduced the
        evidence in that way.

(4) A party may adduce evidence of the contents of a document in question that
is not available to the party, or the existence and contents of which are not
in issue in the proceeding, by-

   (a)  tendering a document that is a copy of, or an extract from or summary
        of, the document in question; or

   (b)  adducing from a witness evidence of the contents of the document in
        question.

Notes 1. Clause 5 of Part 2 of the Dictionary is about the availability of
documents. 2. Section 182 of the Commonwealth Act gives section 48 of the
Commonwealth Act a wider application in relation to Commonwealth records and
certain Commonwealth documents.