Section 158 — Evidence Act 1995 (Cth)

(1) If:

(a) a public document, or a certified copy of a public document, of a State or Territory is admissible for a purpose in that State or Territory under the law of that State or Territory; and

(b) it purports to be sealed, or signed and sealed, or signed alone, as directed by the law of that State or Territory;

it is admissible in evidence to the same extent and for that purpose in all courts:

(c) without proof of:

(i) the seal or signature; or

(ii) the official character of the person appearing to have signed it; and

(d) without further proof in every case in which the original document could have been received in evidence.

(2) A public document of a State or Territory that is admissible in evidence for any purpose in that State or Territory under the law of that State or Territory without proof of:

(a) the seal or signature authenticating the document; or

(b) the judicial or official character of the person appearing to have signed the document;

is admissible in evidence to the same extent and for any purpose in all courts without such proof.

(3) This section only applies to documents that are public records of a State or Territory.

Note 2: Section 5 extends the operation of this provision to proceedings in all Australian courts.

Related sections

• s 155A — Evidence of Commonwealth documents
• s 156 — Public documents
• s 157 — Public documents relating to court processes
• s 159 — Official statistics
• s 160 — Postal articles
• s 161 — Electronic communications

Research how courts apply s 158

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