New South Wales Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE (AUDIO AND AUDIO VISUAL LINKS) ACT 1998 - SECT 5BAA

5BAA Taking evidence of government agency witnesses from outside courtroom or place where court is sitting--proceedings generally

(1) Subject to any applicable rules of court, a government agency witness must, unless the court otherwise directs, give evidence to the court by audio link or audio visual link from any place within New South Wales.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply unless the necessary audio links or audio visual links are available or can reasonably be made available.

(3) The court may make a direction under subsection (1) on its own motion or on the application of a party to the proceedings.

(4) The court may make such a direction only if it is satisfied--

(a) that the evidence to be given is likely to be contentious, and

(b) that it is in the interests of the administration of justice for the government agency witness to give evidence by appearing physically before the court.

(5) In this section--

"expert" , in relation to any issue, means a person who has such knowledge or experience of, or in connection with, that issue, or issues of the character of that issue, that his or her opinion on that issue would be admissible in evidence.

"expert's report" means a written statement by an expert (whether or not an expert witness in the proceedings concerned) that sets out the expert's opinion and the facts, and assumptions of fact, on which the opinion is based and includes a hospital report.

"government agency witness" means the following--

(a) a member of staff of the Government Service or the NSW Health Service, or a person employed in or engaged by any government agency, who has provided an expert's report for use in evidence in proceedings or proposed proceedings or who is called as an expert to give opinion evidence in proceedings,

(b) a member of the NSW Police Force called to give evidence in proceedings to corroborate evidence in chief given by another member of the NSW Police Force for the prosecution,

(c) any other witness of a class prescribed by the regulations.

"hospital report" means a written statement concerning a patient, made by or on behalf of a hospital, that the party serving the statement intends to adduce in evidence in chief at the trial.