New South Wales Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE ACT 1995 - SECT 127

127 Religious confessions

(1) A person who is or was a member of the clergy of any church or religious denomination is entitled to refuse to divulge that a religious confession was made, or the contents of a religious confession made, to the person when a member of the clergy.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the communication involved in the religious confession was made for a criminal purpose.

(3) This section applies even if an Act provides--

(a) that the rules of evidence do not apply or that a person or body is not bound by the rules of evidence, or

(b) that a person is not excused from answering any question or producing any document or other thing on the ground of privilege or any other ground.

(4) In this section--

"religious confession" means a confession made by a person to a member of the clergy in the member's professional capacity according to the ritual of the church or religious denomination concerned.