Evidence Bill 2005

A Consolidated Approach to Evidence Law Reform

The Western Australian Labour Government has had updating Western Australia’s Evidence Act on its agenda for some time. In 2024 it introduced two Bills, the Evidence Bill 2024 and the Evidence Amendment Bill 2024, but both Bills lapsed last year on the prorogation of the last Parliament.

The Government introduced a Bill known as the Evidence Bill 2025 on 30 April of this year which combines both of the previous Bills into a single Bill.  As recorded in the second reading speech by the Attorney-General, Tony Buti, the Evidence Bill 2025 also includes recommendations from the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes are Review. It is worth reading the explanatory memorandum and the second reading speech on the Bill to get a grasp of its breadth.

Impact on Civil and Criminal Litigation

For lawyers practising in civil litigation, the most critical elements pertain to the expansion of the Evidence Act so that it will now more closely align with the Commonwealth Evidence Act.  For those who practice in the Federal Court, you would be aware that there are many very helpful provisions in the Commonwealth Evidence Act that are currently not replicated in the Evidence Act 1906 (WA), particularly with respected a broader class of business records.  For those practising in the criminal area, there is a much broader section of the Act dealing with a wide array of matters that commonly appear in criminal matters.

The Legislative Path Forward

It has now had its third reading in the Legislative Assembly and second reading speech in the Legislative Counsel and the Council has referred the Bill to the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review. For this reason, it is not worth descending to much detail at this time in case the Standing Committee recommends amendments, but it is worth all practitioners having the Bill on their radar through 2025.  Looking at some of the provisions in the Bill, it is probable that consequential amendments will need to be made to the Supreme Court Rules to ensure consistency between the Rules and the new Act when it is passed.

Will provide some broader commentary once the Bill is passed.  There seems to be no particular reason why the Standing Committee will amend the bill given that it is the consolidation of the two bills before the Parliament last year, but some of the more expansive provisions dealing with family violence and child sexual abuse (rather than those mirroring the Commonwealth Evidence Act) might possibly lead to close examination of the Bill.