An arresting officer may rely on a sworn affidavit of a senior investigating officer as providing reasonable grounds for belief under s 3W(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), provided the source is apparently reliable and the affidavit reveals a thorough investigation, even where the underlying documents would not have supported the investigator's conclusion if independently examined. However, Basten JA's dissent provides a powerful counter-analysis that the court must independently assess whether the material objectively supports the belief, and that an investigator's bare assertion cannot fill a gap in the underlying evidence. The question whether an arresting officer may be required to make further inquiries before forming the requisite belief was left open.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 45 later cases that cite this judgment.
10 of the 45 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.