NTIn ForceAct
Evidence Act 1939
56EGiving leave to adduce or produce evidence of confidential
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56E Giving leave to adduce or produce evidence of confidential
communication
(1) A court must not give leave to adduce or produce evidence of a
confidential communication unless satisfied:
(a) that the evidence will, either by itself or together with other
evidence that has been or will be adduced or produced, have
substantial probative value in respect of a fact in issue; and
(b) that other evidence of a similar or greater probative value in
respect of the matters to which the confidential
communication relates is not available; and
(c) that the public interest in preserving the confidentiality of
confidential communications and protecting the victim from
harm is substantially outweighed by the public interest in
admitting into evidence information, or the contents of a
document or record, that is of substantial probative value.
(2) Without limiting the matters the court may take into account for the
purposes of subsection (1)(c), the court must take into account the
likelihood, nature and extent of the harm that could be caused to
the victim if the evidence is adduced or produced.
(3) In giving leave to adduce or produce evidence of a confidential
communication, the court may:
(a) allow evidence of part only of the confidential communication
to be adduced or produced; or
(b) specify the manner in which the evidence is to be adduced or
produced.
(4) The court must state its reasons for giving or refusing to give leave
to adduce or produce evidence of a confidential communication.