Preliminary
Chapter 1 Preliminary
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Outline of this Act
This Act sets out the federal rules of evidence. Generally speaking, the Act applies to proceedings in federal courts (see section 4), but some provisions extend beyond such proceedings (see Note 2 to subsection 4(1)).
Chapter 2 is about how evidence is adduced in proceedings.
Chapter 3 is about admissibility of evidence in proceedings.
Chapter 4 is about proof of matters in proceedings.
Chapter 5 deals with miscellaneous matters
The Dictionary at the end of this Act defines terms and expressions used in this Act.
Related legislation
This Act is in most respects uniform with the following State and Territory Acts:
the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW);
the Evidence Act 2001 (Tas.);
the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic.);
the Evidence Act 2011 (ACT);
the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT).
While these Acts are in most respects identical to this Act, there are differences. The explanatory memorandum to the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 includes a table setting out the differences as at 8 July 2014. An updated version of the table is maintained by the Attorney‑General’s Department on its website (http://www.ag.gov.au).
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