Sibanda v The Queen [2012] HCATrans 195

Sibanda was the applicant and The Queen was the respondent in proceedings before the High Court of Australia. The applicant sought special leave to appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of Queensland (Court of Appeal) which had dismissed his appeal against his conviction for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during the applicant's trial.

The High Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the applicant's prior inconsistent statements, which had been made to police. Specifically, the issue was whether these statements were admissible as evidence of the truth of their contents, or only as evidence that the statements were made. This question turned on the interpretation of s 60 of the *Evidence Act 1977* (Qld).

The High Court granted special leave to appeal and allowed the appeal. Their Honours held that the trial judge had erred in admitting the prior inconsistent statements as evidence of the truth of their contents. The Court reasoned that s 60 of the *Evidence Act 1977* (Qld) did not render admissible a prior inconsistent statement as evidence of the truth of its contents, unless that statement was also an admission by the accused. In this instance, the statements were not admissions. The Court concluded that the admission of this evidence was a significant error, which likely led to a miscarriage of justice.

The High Court quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial.