116   Written statements admitted in committal proceedings

(1)  This section applies to:

(a)  a written statement the whole or any part of which has been admitted as evidence under section 48A of the Justices Act 1902, including any part of the statement that has been rejected under section 48F of that Act,

(b)  a written statement the whole or any part of which has been tendered as evidence under section 51A of the Justices Act 1902,

      referred to in this section as a prescribed written statement.

(2)  Except in so far as the court otherwise orders, a prescribed written statement may be admitted as evidence for the prosecution at the trial of the accused person on proof on oath that the person who made the statement:

(a)  is dead, or so ill as not to be able to travel or to give evidence without a risk of endangering the person’s life, or

(b)  is absent from Australia.

(3)  If the accused person so requires, a prescribed written statement may be admitted as evidence in the accused person’s defence at the trial of the accused person whenever:

(a)  the person who made the statement:

(i)  is dead, or so ill as not to be able to travel or to give evidence without a risk of endangering the person’s life, or

(ii)  is absent from Australia, or

(b)  the committing justice has certified, before committing the person for trial, that in the opinion of the justice:

(i)  the evidence of the person who made the statement is material, and

(ii)  the person is willing to attend the trial, but is unable to bear the expense of attendance.

(4)  A statement may not be admitted as evidence on the ground referred to in subsection (3) (b) if the person who made the statement has, in due time before the trial, been subpoenaed by the Crown.

(5)  A prescribed written statement made in respect of an indictable offence may be admitted as evidence on the trial of the accused person for any other offence, whether of the same or of a different kind, if it would be admissible on his or her trial for the offence in respect of which it was made.

(6)  If at a trial it appears to the court that the whole or any part of a prescribed written statement is inadmissible, the court may reject the statement or that part, as the case may be, as evidence.