Commonwealth Numbered Regulations Commonwealth Numbered Regulations(1) This section applies in relation to a prosecution in a court of summary jurisdiction against an elector for a contravention of:
(a) subsection 245(15) or (15C) of the Act; or
(b) subsection 45(14) or (14C) of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act .
(2) If the prosecuting officer lodges with the court a statutory declaration and a certified extract in the approved form, the officer is not required to attend the hearing.
(3) If a statutory declaration and certified extract have been lodged as provided by subsection (2), and the prosecuting officer is not present at the hearing, the court must:
(a) proceed with the hearing and determination of the case in the prosecuting officer's absence; and
(b) consider the statutory declaration and certified extract as if the matters set out in those documents had been given in evidence before the court; and
(c) notwithstanding the absence of the prosecuting officer, permit evidence for the prosecution to be given by any witness who is summoned by, or attends on behalf of, the prosecuting officer.
(4) For the purposes of this section, any document purporting to be a statutory declaration must be accepted as such by the court without proof of:
(a) the signatures on the declaration; or
(b) the authority of the person before whom the declaration purports to have been made to take statutory declarations.