Terms used
3 Terms used
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
adult means a person who has reached 18 years of age and in respect of whom there are no reasonable grounds to suspect that he or she is an incapable person;
child means a person who is under 18 years of age and in respect of whom there are no reasonable grounds to suspect that he or she is an incapable person;
corresponding law has the meaning given by section 87;
DNA database has the meaning given by section 76;
forensic database has the meaning given by section 61;
forensic purpose means —
investigating an offence or a suspected offence or offences generally; or
investigating the death of a person or identifying a deceased person; or
investigating the whereabouts of or identifying a missing person;
identifying feature, in relation to a person, means a permanent or semi‑permanent physical feature of the person that helps to identify the person;
Example for this definition:
The face, iris or retina of a person or a birthmark, scar or tattoo on a person.
identifying information has the meaning given by section 61;
identifying particular has the meaning given by section 11(1), 17, 23, 34, 47, 52A or 61, as the case requires;
identifying procedure means a procedure in the course of which —
one or more identifying particulars of a person are obtained from the person; and
if practicable, the person’s personal details are obtained;
impression includes a cast;
incapable person means a person of any age —
who is unable by reason of a mental disability (which term includes intellectual disability, a psychiatric condition, an acquired brain injury and dementia) to understand the general nature and effect of, and the reason for and the consequences of undergoing, an identifying procedure; or
who is unconscious or otherwise unable to understand a request made or information given under this Act or to communicate whether or not he or she consents to an identifying procedure being done on him or her;
intimate identifying procedure, in relation to a person, means —
an identifying procedure that is done on the person’s private parts; or
the taking of a dental impression of the person; or
the taking of a sample of the person’s blood; or
the taking of a sample of any bodily material of the person, other than the person’s blood, by means of a procedure that is prescribed by the regulations to be an intimate identifying procedure;
IP warrant (involved protected person) means a warrant issued under section 33;
IP warrant (suspect) means a warrant issued under section 46;
JP means Justice of the Peace;
non‑intimate identifying procedure, in relation to a person, means an identifying procedure that is done on the person that is not an intimate identifying procedure, and includes the taking of a buccal swab from the person;
offence means an offence under a written law but does not include a contempt of court;
officer means a police officer or a public officer or both, as the case requires;
official details means —
in respect of a police officer — the officer’s surname and rank and includes, in relation to an application by the officer under this Act for a warrant, the officer’s registered number;
in respect of a public officer — the officer’s full name and official title;
participating jurisdiction has the meaning given by section 87;
personal details, in relation to a person, has the meaning given by section 16(1);
photograph includes a video recording and a digital image;
private parts, in relation to a person, means the person’s genital area, anal area and buttocks and, in the case of a female or person identifying as female, includes the person’s breasts;
protected person means a person who is a child or an incapable person;
Public Advocate has the meaning given by the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990;
public officer means a person, other than a police officer, appointed under a written law to an office that is prescribed under section 5(1);
reasonably suspects has the meaning given by section 4;
remote communication means any way of communicating at a distance including by telephone, fax, email and radio;
responsible person, in relation to a child, means —
a parent of the child; or
a guardian of the child; or
another person who has responsibility for the day‑to‑day care of the child; or
if no person mentioned in another paragraph of this definition is available — a person, or a person in a class of persons, prescribed by the regulations;
responsible person, in relation to an incapable person, means —
the spouse or de facto partner of the incapable person; or
a parent of the incapable person; or
if the incapable person is under 18 years of age — a guardian of the incapable person; or
if the incapable person has reached 18 years of age — the Public Advocate or a guardian of the incapable person appointed under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990; or
another person who has responsibility for the day‑to‑day care of the incapable person; or
if no person mentioned in another paragraph of this definition is available — a person, or a person in a class of persons, prescribed by the regulations;
senior officer means —
a police officer who is, or is acting as, a sergeant or an officer of a rank more senior than a sergeant;
a public officer who is prescribed by the regulations to be a senior officer for the purpose of this Act;
serious offence means an offence the statutory penalty for which is or includes life imprisonment or imprisonment for 12 months or more;
statutory penalty, in relation to an offence, means the penalty specified by a written law for the offence;
volunteer has the meaning given by section 17;
WA Police means the Police Force of Western Australia provided for by the Police Act 1892.
For the purposes of this Act a person is charged with an offence when —
the officer investigating the offence informs the person that he or she will be charged with the offence, whether or not at that time the officer has commenced a prosecution of the offence; or
a prosecution of the offence is commenced against the person,
whichever happens first.
Examples prefaced by “For example:” in this Act do not form part of it and are provided to assist understanding.
[Section 3 amended: No. 28 of 2003 s. 38; No. 84 of 2004 s. 80; No. 29 of 2008 s. 28; No. 42 of 2009 s. 16(2); No. 22 of 2013 s. 4; No. 17 of 2014 s. 6; No. 31 of 2024 s. 36.]
[Section 3. Modifications to be applied in order to give effect to Cross‑border Justice Act 2008: section altered 1 Nov 2009. See endnote 1M.]
The statute text is free to read above. View Pro plans to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.