On a charge of contempt under s 49(1)(b) of the Major Crime (Investigative Powers) Act 2004 (Vic), the examinee bears only an evidential burden of raising a reasonable excuse; the prosecution bears the legal burden of disproving it beyond reasonable doubt. The Chief Examiner is not required to determine the reasonableness of an excuse, give reasons, or allow the examinee to reconsider as preconditions to contempt proceedings, but procedural fairness requires informing the examinee of the right to refuse if there is a reasonable excuse. The Chief Examiner cannot be obliged to assure an examinee that answers will not be communicated to prosecuting authorities, as such an assurance would misstate the law.
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