Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) In this section
and sections 19B to 19M —
application for leave means an application for
leave to disclose or require disclosure of a protected communication in, or in
connection with, any criminal proceedings;
counselling communication means a communication
—
(a) made
in confidence by a person upon or in respect of whom sexual assault was
committed or is alleged to have been committed (the complainant ) to another
person (the counsellor ) who is counselling the complainant in relation to any
harm the complainant may have suffered; or
(b) made
in confidence to or about the complainant by the counsellor in the course of
the counselling process; or
(c) made
in confidence about the complainant by a support person in the course of the
counselling process; or
(d) made
in confidence by or to the counsellor to or by another person who is
counselling, or has at any time counselled, the complainant,
and includes a communication made through an
interpreter;
counsels has the meaning given to that term in
subsection (2);
disclose a protected communication means to
disclose, or adduce or produce anything that would disclose —
(a) the
protected communication; or
(b) the
contents of a document recording the protected communication;
harm includes actual physical bodily harm,
financial loss, stress or shock, damage to reputation or emotional or
psychological harm (such as shame, humiliation and fear);
protected communication means a counselling
communication made by, to or about a complainant and includes —
(a) a
counselling communication made before the commission, or alleged commission,
of sexual assault; and
(b) a
counselling communication not made in connection with sexual assault or
alleged sexual assault or any condition arising from sexual assault or alleged
sexual assault; and
(c) a
counselling communication made before the protection provisions were inserted
into this Act;
protected person , in relation to a protected
communication, means —
(a) the
complainant; or
(b) any
person who made the protected communication; or
(c) an
interpreter through whom the protected communication was made;
protection provisions means this section and
sections 19B to 19M;
require disclosure of a protected communication
includes —
(a) to
require (whether by the issue of a subpoena or any other process or procedure)
the production of a document recording the protected communication; and
(b) to
seek an order of the court that will, if made, result in the disclosure of the
protected communication or the production of a document recording the
protected communication;
support person means a parent, carer or other
supportive person who is present when a person counsels the complainant to
facilitate communication between the complainant and the counsellor or to
further the counselling process in some other way;
supporting affidavit means the affidavit
accompanying an application for leave.
(2) A person counsels
another person if —
(a) the
person has undertaken training or study or has experience that is relevant to
the process of counselling persons who have suffered harm; and
(b) the
person —
(i)
listens to and gives verbal or other support or
encouragement to the other person; or
(ii)
advises, gives therapy to or treats the other person,
whether or not for fee
or reward.
(3) In the protection
provisions, a reference to a document recording a protected communication
—
(a) is a
reference to any part of the document that records a protected communication
or any report, observation, opinion, advice, recommendation or other matter
that relates to the protected communication made by a protected person; and
(b)
includes a reference to any copy, reproduction or duplicate of that part of
the document.
(4) For the purposes
of the definition of counselling communication in subsection (1), a
communication can be regarded as being made in confidence even if it is made
in the presence of a support person or through or in the presence of an
interpreter.
[Section 19A inserted: No. 46 of 2004 s. 10.]