A ruling on the competency of a witness under s 13 of the Evidence Act 1995 is an interlocutory judgment or order appealable under s 5F(2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912, not a ruling on admissibility of evidence under s 5F(3A). The competency inquiry under s 13 is confined to the statutory criteria and must not extend to matters of credibility or weight. Child witnesses must be questioned using age-appropriate, concrete language; asking a young child to define abstract concepts such as 'truth' or 'lie' is inappropriate and may prevent a competent child from demonstrating their understanding.
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