Section 254(2) of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) imposes an objective standard: a police officer must be 'reasonably satisfied' based on external evidence that intoxication no longer affects the suspect's ability to understand rights and decide whether to answer questions. The common law test in Sinclair (intoxication destroying capacity to know what is being confessed) is superseded by this lower statutory threshold for police-initiated questioning. Where a record of interview is obtained in breach of ss 249 and 254, and contains material prejudicial beyond the complainant's own evidence, the discretion to exclude under s 130 of the Evidence Act 1977 should be exercised. In multi-count sexual offence trials where the complainant's credibility is central, a direction should be given that doubts about credibility on one count should be considered when assessing credibility on other counts.
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