(1) A court or a judge
may, for the purposes of any proceedings, direct or allow testimony to be
given by video link, audio link or other appropriate means.
(2) The testimony must
be given on oath or affirmation unless —
(a) the
person giving the testimony is in a foreign country; and
(b)
either —
(i)
the law in force in that country does not permit the
person to give testimony on oath or affirmation for the purposes of the
proceedings; or
(ii)
the law in force in that country would make it
inconvenient for the person to give testimony on oath or affirmation for the
purposes of the proceedings;
and
(c) the
court or a judge is satisfied that it is appropriate for the testimony to be
given otherwise than on oath or affirmation.
(3) If the testimony
is given otherwise than on oath or affirmation, the court or a judge must give
the testimony such weight as the court or the judge thinks fit in the
circumstances.
(4) The power
conferred on the court or a judge by subsection (1) may be exercised —
(a) on
the application of a party to the proceedings concerned; or
(b) on
the court’s own initiative or on the judge’s own initiative, as
the case may be.
(5) This section
applies whether the person giving testimony is in or outside Australia, but
does not allow testimony to be given by a person who is in New Zealand.
[Section 219AB inserted: No. 35 of 2006 s. 19.]