CURRENT TOPICS

Normally when a restraining order is granted, the issuing Judge will make an order either at that time or soon thereafter for the examination of a defendant and/or others who may be associated with the defendant.

It again is wrong to assume that just because what is said in the examination cannot be used in criminal proceedings, that the examination process has no great relevance. The examination process can form the basis of how a matter is to proceed (and often does) as the evidence given in an examination can be used in later civil hearings under the relevant Act.

Thus it becomes imperative that an examinee is well prepared for the examination, experience has shown that examinees who are well prepared at the examination benefit at any subsequent hearings.

The High Court of Australia decisions in X7 and Lee provide some guidance as to processes and protections that can be afforded to an examinee in an examination hearing. However, and relevantly, the perceived inconsistency between these two decisions is emphasised by Hayne J in Lee.