Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998 (Vic)

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts

(Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section	Page
PART 1—PRELIMINARY	1

1.	Purpose	1
2.	Commencement	2

PART 2—CRIMES ACT 1958 3

3.	Provision of forensic reports	3
4.	New section 590 inserted	4

590.      Transitional provision—Crimes, Confiscation and

Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998 4

PART 3—CONFISCATION ACT 1997 5

5. Transitional provisions 5

PART 4—EVIDENCE ACT 1958 7

6. New sections 19A to 19E inserted 7

19A.	Application of Division	7
19B.	Public may be excluded in certain circumstances	8
19C.	Incriminating answers	8
19D.	Legal professional privilege	9
19E.	Powers of entry, inspection and possession	9

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NOTES 12

i

Victoria

No. 80 of 1998

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts

(Amendment) Act 1998†

[Assented to 13 November 1998]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1. Purpose

The purpose of this Act is—

(a)	to amend provisions of the Crimes Act 1958 concerning the provision of forensic reports;
(b)	to clarify transitional arrangements under the Confiscation Act 1997;

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998 s. 2

(c) to make further provisions for commissions of inquiry.

2. Commencement

(1) This Act, except Parts 3 and 4, comes into

operation on the day on which it receives the

Royal Assent.

(2) Part 3 is deemed to have come into operation on

1 July 1998.

(3) Part 4 is deemed to have come into operation on

20 October 1998.

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Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

s. 3 Act No. 80/1998

PART 2—CRIMES ACT 1958

3. Provision of forensic reports

No. 6231.	In the Crimes Act 1958—
Reprint No. 14
as at 1 July

1998.   (a) in section 464ZD—

(i) 464T(3), 464U(7), 464V(5) or

after "with" insert "section 464R, 464ZGD or otherwise in accordance with";

(ii)  omit "but in any event not more than 7 days after receipt by the prosecution";

(iii)  after "that person" insert "(or, in the case of a forensic procedure conducted in accordance with section 464ZF on a person who is a child within the meaning of that section, to that child and a parent or guardian of that child)";

(b)

in section 464ZE(1), after paragraph (a) "(ab) a copy of a forensic report relating to

the procedure required by section
464ZD to be given or sent by registered
post to a person had not been given or
sent to that person before the end of the
period of 7 days after its receipt by the

prosecution; or";

(c)

in section 464ZE(2) and (2A), after "sub- "or (1)(ab)";

(d) section 464ZF(11) is repealed;
(e) section 464ZGE(12) is repealed.

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998 s. 4

4. New section 590 inserted

After section 589 of the Crimes Act 1958 insert—

"590. Transitional provision—Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

The amendments to this Act made by section 3 of the Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998 apply only with respect to forensic procedures within the meaning of Subdivision (30A) of Division 1 of Part III conducted after the commencement of that section.".

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Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

s. 5 Act No. 80/1998

PART 3—CONFISCATION ACT 1997

5. Transitional provisions

No. 108/1997.	(1) In section 157 of the Confiscation Act 1997, after
Reprint No. 1
as at 1 July	sub-section (4) insert—
1998.

"(4A) The Crimes (Confiscation of Profits) Act 1986 continues to apply, despite its repeal, with respect to serious offences and

interstate serious offences within the
meaning of that Act for which a criminal
proceeding was commenced before the
commencement of Part 2 of this Act
(irrespective of whether any conviction of
that offence for the purposes of that Act
occurs before or after the commencement of
that Part) as if that Act had not been

repealed.

(4B) Without limiting sub-section (4A)—

(a) made, direction given, warrant issued

any application, appeal or order may be (Confiscation of Profits) Act 1986 that could have been made, given, issued or done under that Act had it not been repealed; and

(b) anything made, given, issued or done under that Act after its repeal by virtue of this section has the like effect as it would have had if that Act had not been repealed.".

(2) In section 157 of the Confiscation Act 1997, after

sub-section (11) insert—

"(12) A reference in this section to the Crimes

(Confiscation of Profits) Act 1986 is a

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998 s. 5

reference to that Act as in force immediately

before its repeal.

(13) The amendments made to this section by

section 5 of the Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998 do not affect the rights of the parties that were the subject of the proceeding known as
Martin v Cooper and Martin heard in the
Magistrates' Court at Melbourne and

determined on 7 October 1998.".

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Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

s. 6 Act No. 80/1998

PART 4—EVIDENCE ACT 1958

6. New sections 19A to 19E inserted

No. 6246.	After section 19 of the Evidence Act 1958
Reprint No. 12
as at	insert—
1 September

1998.   "19A. Application of Division

(1) This Division applies in relation to a

commission as if a reference in this Division
to a document included a reference to a

thing.

(2) Nothing in any Act or law prevents the

application of this Division for the purposes

of a commission to and in relation to—

(a) a person who is—

(i) a coroner within the meaning of the Coroners Act 1985;

(ii)

the Victorian WorkCover Board of Management;

(iii) authority or a member of the
board of management (by

any other public statutory authority;

(iv) the Director of Public
Prosecutions;

(v) a member of the police force;

(vi)  the holder of an office established by or under an Act;

(b) any information, document or thing obtained by or in the possession or control of any such person;

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998	s. 6
(c)

the disclosure or production to the document or thing.

19B. Public may be excluded in certain

circumstances

(1) The commissioner presiding at a hearing of a

commission may order the exclusion of the
public or of persons specified by the
commissioner from the hearing or a part of it
if the commissioner is satisfied that the
exclusion of the public, or of those persons,
from the hearing or a part of it would
facilitate the conduct of the inquiry by the
commission or would otherwise be in the
public interest.

(2) The commissioner presiding at a hearing of a

commission may make an order prohibiting
the publication of a report of the whole or
any part of the proceedings of a hearing or
part of a hearing to which an order under
sub-section (1) applies or of any information
derived from the hearing or part of it except
by, or with the leave of, the commission.

(3) If an order is made under sub-section (2), the

commissioner presiding at the hearing must cause a copy of the order to be posted on a door or other conspicuous place where the hearing is held.

(4) A person must not contravene an order made and posted under sub-sections (2) and (3).

Penalty:  30 penalty units or imprisonment
for 3 months.

19C. Incriminating answers

(1) Despite anything to the contrary in this

Division, a person required to provide any

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

s. 6 Act No. 80/1998

information, or to produce any document or
thing, to a commission, or appearing before a
commission to give evidence, is not excused
from providing the information, or producing
the document or thing, or giving the
evidence, on the ground that the information,
or document or thing, or evidence, may tend
to incriminate him or her.

(2) Any information provided, or document or

thing produced, or evidence given, by a
person to a commission is not admissible
against him or her in any proceedings,
whether civil or criminal, nor can it be made
the ground of any prosecution, action or suit
against him or her other than in proceedings
for perjury or giving false information.

19D. Legal professional privilege

(1) Despite anything to the contrary in this

Division, if a person is required by a commission to answer a question or produce a document or thing, the person is not excused from complying with the requirement on the ground that the answer to the question would disclose, or the document contains, or the thing discloses, matter in respect of which the person could claim legal professional privilege.

(2) The commissioner may require the person to comply with the requirement at a hearing of the commission from which the public, or

specified persons, are excluded in

accordance with section 19B.

19E. Powers of entry, inspection and possession

(1) If the commissioners of a commission

reasonably consider it necessary for the
purposes of the commission, a

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998 s. 6

commissioner, with such assistance as he or

she thinks fit—

(a)	may enter and inspect any place and any document or thing in that place; and
(b)	may make a copy of any document relevant, or that the commissioner reasonably considers may be relevant,

to the commission; and

(c) or thing which the commissioner

may take possession of any document and may keep it until the commission has completed its inquiry and report.

(2) If the commissioners of a commission

reasonably consider it necessary for the
purposes of the commission, a commissioner
may, in writing, authorise a member of the
police force to do any one or more of the
following at or between specified times
during a specified period (not exceeding one

month after the authority is given)—

(a) to enter a specified place;

(b)	to inspect a specified place and any document or thing in that place;
(c)	to make a copy of specified documents or classes of documents;
(d)	to take possession of specified things or classes of things.

(3) A member of the police force must not

exercise a power under an authority under
sub-section (2), unless the member has given
a copy of the authority to the owner or
occupier or the person in possession of the

Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

s. 6 Act No. 80/1998

document or thing to be inspected, copied or
taken.

(4) A commissioner may release any document

or thing kept under sub-section (1)(c) or
(2)(d) and may require a person to whom the
document or thing is released to give an
undertaking to comply with any reasonable
conditions of release.

(5) A person must comply with an undertaking

concerning release.
Penalty: 10 penalty units.".

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Crimes, Confiscation and Evidence Acts (Amendment) Act 1998

Act No. 80/1998 Notes

NOTES

†

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 29 October 1998

Legislative Council: 10 November 1998

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to amend the Crimes Act 1958, the Confiscation Act 1997 and the Evidence Act 1958 and for other purposes."