Section 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 does not require a trial judge to reject evidence of the judge's own motion where no objection is taken and the accused is legally represented; the provision means 'must refuse to admit over objection'. Evidence of prior domestic incidents and ADVOs is admissible as background/context evidence explaining the relationship between parties and is not propensity evidence requiring a tendency direction. The decision in Steve v R should not be followed on the interpretation of s 137.
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