Section 8(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) permits amendment of a charge-sheet to substitute an entirely different charge for a different offence, subject only to the express limitations of injustice to the accused and limitation periods. The phrase 'new offence' in s 8(3) does not confine the amendment power to perfecting invalid charges but merely imposes a temporal constraint on amendments that introduce new offences. Section 6 (commencement of proceedings by filing) does not limit the amendment power because it concerns commencement of proceedings, not commencement of individual charges.
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