South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts26—Insertion of Part 17 Division 3
After section 74E insert:
Division 3—Recording interviews with certain vulnerable witnesses
74EA—Application and interpretation
(1) This Division applies to a person being interviewed as a potential witness who is—
(a) a child of or under the age of 14 years; or
(b) a person with a disability that adversely affects the person's capacity to give a coherent account of the person's experiences or to respond rationally to questions.
(2) In this Division—
"serious offence against the person" means—
(a) attempted murder; or
(b) attempted manslaughter; or
(c) a sexual offence; or
(d) —
(i) an offence of stalking under section 19AA of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935
; or
(ii) an offence of causing serious harm under section 23 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935
; or
(iii) an offence involving an unlawful threat to kill or endanger life; or
(iv) an offence involving abduction; or
(v) an offence involving blackmail; or
(vi) an attempt to commit, or assault with intent to commit, any of the offences in the preceding subparagraphs; or
(e) an offence of contravening or failing to comply with an intervention order under the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009
; or
(f) an offence of contravening or failing to comply with a restraining order under the Summary Procedure Act 1921
;
"sexual offence" means—
(a) rape; or
(b) compelled sexual manipulation; or
(c) indecent assault; or
(d) any offence involving unlawful sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency; or
(e) incest; or
(f) any offence involving sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, or exploitation of a child as an object of prurient interest; or
(g) an offence of sexual exploitation of a person with a cognitive impairment under section 51 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935
; or
(h) any attempt to commit, or assault with intent to commit, any of the foregoing offences.
74EB—Obligation to record interviews with certain vulnerable witnesses
If a person to whom this Division applies is to be interviewed as a potential witness in relation to the investigation of a serious offence against the person, the interview must be conducted as follows:
(a) an audio visual recording of the interview must be made in accordance with the regulations;
(b) the interview must be conducted by a prescribed interviewer;
(c) the manner in which the interview is conducted must meet the prescribed requirements to the prescribed extent.
74EC—Admissibility of evidence of interview
(1) In proceedings for a charge of a serious offence against the person, evidence of an interview between a prescribed person and a person to whom this Division applies is inadmissible unless—
(a) the prescribed person complied with this Division in relation to the conduct and recording of the interview; or
(b) the court is satisfied that the interests of justice require the admission of the evidence despite the prescribed person's non-compliance.
(2) If, in the course of a trial by jury, the court admits evidence of an interview under subsection (1)(b)
, the court must—
(a) draw the jury's attention to the non-compliance by the prescribed person; and
(b) give an appropriate warning in view of the non-compliance,
unless the court is of the opinion that the non-compliance was trivial.