Section 294AA of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) prohibits a Murray direction (that uncorroborated evidence of a single witness must be scrutinised with great care) where the sole basis for the direction is the absence of corroboration of the complainant's evidence in sexual offence proceedings. A Murray direction based solely on absence of corroboration is tantamount to a direction that it would be dangerous to convict on uncorroborated evidence, which is the substance of what s 294AA(2) prohibits regardless of the linguistic formula used. However, directions appropriate to the specific circumstances of an individual case (such as delay, inconsistencies, or other identified weaknesses) remain available and may be required under the general Longman principle. The question of how the unsafe/unsatisfactory verdict ground under s 6(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act should be approached in judge-alone trials remains unresolved.
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