An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to oaths, affirmations, statutory declarations and affidavits.
This Act may be cited as the Oaths Act 1900.
This Act shall commence on 1 January 1901.
The Acts mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act are, to the extent therein expressed, hereby repealed.
All rules made and notifications published under the authority of any Act hereby repealed shall be deemed to have been made and published under the authority of this Act.
Chapter 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (which relates to the summary disposal of certain indictable offences unless an election is made to proceed on indictment) applies to and in respect of an offence under section 13 (2), 20, 25, 25A, 29 or 30.
Where but for the passing of this Act or the Act twentieth Victoria number nine hereby repealed it would be necessary for any person—
(a) to take the oaths commonly called the Oaths of Allegiance, Supremacy, and Abjuration, or any of them, or
(b) to take the oath prescribed by the Act commonly called the Roman Catholic Relief Act, or
(c) to make the declaration prescribed by the Imperial Act ninth George the Fourth, chapter seventeen,
it shall be sufficient for such person to take in lieu of the said several oaths and declaration the oath of allegiance in the form of the Second Schedule.
The oaths prescribed in the Second, Third, and Fourth Schedules may be taken and subscribed at any hour—
(a) within the State of New South Wales before any Justice of the High Court of Australia or of the Supreme Court, any member of the Industrial Commission of New South Wales, any District Court Judge, or before any justice of the peace who is authorised by writ of dedimus potestatem for that purpose, and
(b) without the said State before any Justice of the High Court of Australia or of the Supreme Court of any State of the Commonwealth of Australia, or before any person who is authorised by writ of dedimus potestatem for that purpose.
Without prejudice to the operation of subsection (2) the oaths prescribed in the Second and Fourth Schedules may be taken and subscribed at any hour—
(a) by a Magistrate—before the Chief Magistrate or the person for the time being acting in that office, or
(b) by a justice of the peace—before a Magistrate or a registrar…