Defence (Inquiry) Regulations 1985
74Duty to answer questions
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74 Duty to answer questions
(1) A member of the Defence Force is guilty of an offence if the member: (a) appears as a witness before an Inquiry Officer or inquiry assistant; and (b) refuses to answer a question that is relevant to the inquiry and that has been put to the member by an Inquiry Officer or inquiry assistant.
(2) A member of the Defence Force is guilty of an offence if the member: (a) appears as a witness before an Inquiry Officer or inquiry assistant; and (b) fails to answer a question that is relevant to the inquiry and that has been put to the member by an Inquiry Officer or inquiry assistant.
(3) An offence against subregulation (2) is an offence of strict liability.
(3A) A person appearing as a witness before an Inquiry Officer or an inquiry assistant is not excused from answering a question, when required to do so, on the ground that the answer to the question may tend to incriminate that person, except where the answer to the question:
Note: At 30 June 2006, subsection 124 (2C) of the Defence Act 1903 provided: ‘A statement or disclosure made by a witness in the course of giving evidence before a court of inquiry, a board of inquiry, an inquiry officer or an inquiry assistant is not admissible in evidence against that witness in:
Note: otherwise than in proceedings by way of a prosecution for giving false testimony at the hearing before the court of inquiry, the board of inquiry, the inquiry officer or the inquiry assistant.’
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subregulation (1) or (2) if the person has a reasonable excuse for refusing or failing to answer the question.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in subregulation (4) (see section 13.3 of the Criminal Code).
(5) Without limiting the circumstances that may constitute a reasonable excuse for the purposes of subregulation (4), a member has a reasonable excuse for refusing or failing to answer a question if the member considers, on reasonable grounds, that answering the question may: (b) be prejudicial to the defence of the Commonwealth.