Robinson v Vanston

Robinson v Vanston was an appeal heard by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning prosecutions under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) (Enforcement) Act 1995. The case centred around whether the correct legal test was applied in determining guilt and whether the material admitted in evidence met the requirements of the evidentiary provisions. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the content of the offences of offering or displaying a film or computer game for sale was the same as the content of the offences of possessing a film or computer game with the intention of selling.

The court examined whether the earlier section 25 certificates were invalid and inadmissible because there was evidence of non-compliance with the application procedure required by sections 14 and 17 of the Commonwealth Act. Additionally, it considered whether the later section 25 certificates were invalid and inadmissible because there was no evidence that the procedures followed were those mandated by those sections. The court found that the evidence permitted a conclusion that the proper procedures had been followed for the later certificates, as the application forms appeared to be documents created by the relevant authority. However, the earlier certificates were admitted into evidence despite there being clear evidence of non-compliance with the required procedures. The court concluded that these prosecutions must be re-heard, and the evidence to be adduced may not necessarily be identical to the evidence adduced at the earlier hearing.

The court found that the issue of the admissibility of the certificates was not resolved by the conduct of the parties during the earlier hearings. The court emphasised that the issue of whether the certificates were admissible stood apart from the likely future course of the prosecutions. The court left it open for the prosecution to decide whether to tender the earlier certificates in evidence during the re-hearings.