Section 165 of the Evidence Act 1995 applies to evidence the unreliability of which may not be apparent to the jury or where the court has special appreciation of the likelihood of unreliability — it does not extend to every matter that might affect reliability such as prior inconsistent statements, bias, or intoxication, which are within the jury's general experience. Where an accomplice has received a sentencing discount for an undertaking to give evidence, the trial judge should inform the jury of the discount and the consequences of failing to fulfil the undertaking, but the majority held this falls within the category of comment rather than mandatory warning under s 165(2)(b). R v V (1998) 100 A Crim R 488, R v Mayberry [2000] NSWCCA 531, and R v Lonie and Groom [1999] NSWCCA 19 should not be followed on the scope of s 165.
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