Section 12 — Evidence Act 1995 (Cth)

Competence and compellability

Except as otherwise provided by this Act:

(a) every person is competent to give evidence; and

(b) a person who is competent to give evidence about a fact is compellable to give that evidence.

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 22 May 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.

Related sections

s 9 — Effect of Act on other laws
s 10 — Parliamentary privilege preserved
s 11 — General powers of a court
s 13 — Competence: lack of capacity
s 14 — Compellability: reduced capacity
s 15 — Compellability: Sovereign and others

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