Evidentiary
139 Evidentiary
In any proceedings, a certificate executed by the Minister, the
Authority or another administering agency certifying as to a matter relating to—
an environmental authorisation or other authorisation under this
Act; or
the appointment or non-appointment of a person as an authorised officer or an analyst or otherwise under this Act; or
a delegation or authority under this Act; or
a notice, order, requirement or direction of the Minister, the
Authority or the other administering agency under this Act; or
any other decision of the Minister, the Authority or the other administering agency; or
the receipt or non-receipt by the Minister, the Authority or the other administering agency of a notification or information required to be given or furnished to the Authority or the Minister under this
Act, constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters so certified.
In any proceedings for the recovery of reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Minister, the Authority, another administering agency or some other public authority under this Act, a certificate executed by the
Minister, the Authority, the other administering agency or other public authority detailing the costs and expenses and the purpose for which they were incurred constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters so certified.
An allegation in a complaint that specified matter was a pollutant constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters so alleged.
An allegation in an information that specified matter was waste or other matter constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters so alleged.
In any proceedings for an offence against this Act where it is alleged that the defendant caused an environmental nuisance, evidence by an authorised officer that he or she formed the opinion based on his or her own senses—
that pollutants discharged or emitted from a place occupied by the defendant travelled to a place occupied by another person; and
that the level, nature or extent of the pollution within the place occupied by the other person was such as to constitute an unreasonable interference with the person's enjoyment of the place, constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that the defendant caused an environmental nuisance.
In any proceedings for an offence against this Act, a certificate of an authorised officer certifying that, at a specified time—
a specified vehicle was stopped or parked in a specified place;
or
a specified person was the owner of a specified vehicle, constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of those matters.
In any proceedings, a certificate executed by a person appointed by the Authority as an analyst for the purposes of this Act and setting out details as to an analysis carried out by or under the direction of the person and the results of the analysis constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters so certified.
An apparently genuine document purporting to be an authorisation, notice, order, certificate or other document, or a copy of an authorisation, notice, order, certificate or other document, issued or executed—
by the Minister, the Authority, another administering agency or an authorised officer under this Act; or
by a public authority for the purpose of recovering costs and expenses incurred by the public authority under this Act; or
by an analyst appointed by the Authority for the purposes of this
Act, will be accepted as such in the absence of proof to the contrary.
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