Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 - SECT 10

Production of document

10. Production of document



(1) If, by or under a law of this jurisdiction, a person is required to
produce a document that is in the form of paper, an article or other material,
that requirement is taken to have been met if the person produces, by means of
an electronic communication, an electronic form of the document, where-

   (a)  having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time the
        communication was sent, the method of generating the electronic form
        of the document provided a reliable means of assuring the maintenance
        of the integrity of the information contained in the document; and

   (b)  at the time the communication was sent, it was reasonable to expect
        that the information contained in the electronic form of the document
        would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent
        reference; and

   (c)  the person to whom the document is required to be produced consents to
        the production, by means of an electronic communication, of an
        electronic form of the document.

(2) If, by or under a law of this jurisdiction, a person is permitted to
produce a document that is in the form of paper, an article or other material,
then, instead of producing the document in that form, the person may produce,
by means of an electronic communication, an electronic form of the document,
where-

   (a)  having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time the
        communication was sent, the method of generating the electronic form
        of the document provided a reliable means of assuring the maintenance
        of the integrity of the information contained in the document; and

   (b)  at the time the communication was sent, it was reasonable to expect
        that the information contained in the electronic form of the document
        would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent
        reference; and

   (c)  the person to whom the document is permitted to be produced consents
        to the production, by means of an electronic communication, of an
        electronic form of the document.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the integrity of information contained
in a document is maintained if, and only if, the information has remained
complete and unaltered, apart from-

   (a)  the addition of any endorsement; or

   (b)  any immaterial change-

which arises in the normal course of communication, storage or display.

(4) This section does not affect the operation of any other law of this
jurisdiction that makes provision for or in relation to requiring or
permitting electronic forms of documents to be produced, in accordance with
particular information technology requirements-

   (a)  on a particular kind of data storage device; or

   (b)  by means of a particular kind of electronic communication.

Note Section 12 provides for exemption from this section.