Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Evidence Act 2008 - SECT 69

Exception-business records

69. Exception-business records



(1) This section applies to a document that-

   (a)  either-

   (i)  is or forms part of the records belonging to or kept by a person, body
        or organisation in the course of, or for the purposes of, a business;
        or

   (ii) at any time was or formed part of such a record; and

   (b)  contains a previous representation made or recorded in the document in
        the course of, or for the purposes of, the business.

(2) The hearsay rule does not apply to the document (so far as it contains the
representation) if the representation was made-

   (a)  by a person who had or might reasonably be supposed to have had
        personal knowledge of the asserted fact; or

   (b)  on the basis of information directly or indirectly supplied by a
        person who had or might reasonably be supposed to have had personal
        knowledge of the asserted fact.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the representation-

   (a)  was prepared or obtained for the purpose of conducting, or for or in
        contemplation of or in connection with, an Australian or overseas
        proceeding; or

   (b)  was made in connection with an investigation relating or leading to a
        criminal proceeding.



(4) If-

   (a)  the occurrence of an event of a particular kind is in question; and

   (b)  in the course of a business, a system has been followed of making and
        keeping a record of the occurrence of all events of that kind-

the hearsay rule does not apply to evidence that tends to prove that there is
no record kept, in accordance with that system, of the occurrence of the
event.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a person is taken to have had personal
knowledge of a fact if the person's knowledge of the fact was or might
reasonably be supposed to have been based on what the person saw, heard or
otherwise perceived (other than a previous representation made by a person
about the fact).

Note 1. Sections 48, 49, 50, 146, 147 and 150(1) are relevant to the mode of
proof, and authentication, of business records. 2. Section 182 of the
Commonwealth Act gives section 69 of the Commonwealth Act a wider application
in relation to Commonwealth records.