Division 4(cf ICAC Act s 30)
(1) For the purposes of an investigation, the Commission may hold hearings.(2) A hearing must be conducted by the Commissioner or by an Assistant Commissioner, as determined by the Commissioner.(3) At each hearing, the person presiding must announce the general scope and purpose of the hearing.(4) A person appearing before the Commission at a hearing is entitled to be informed of the general scope and purpose of the hearing, unless the Commissioner is of the opinion that this would seriously prejudice the investigation concerned.
33 Public and private hearings
(cf ICAC Act s 31)
(1) A hearing may be held in public or in private, or partly in public and partly in private, as decided by the Commission.(2) Without limiting the above, the Commission may decide to hear closing submissions in private. This extends to a closing submission by a person appearing before the Commission or by an Australian legal practitioner representing such a person, as well as to a closing submission by an Australian legal practitioner assisting the Commission as counsel.(3) In reaching these decisions, the Commission is obliged to have regard to any matters that it considers to be related to the public interest.(3A) Without limiting the factors that it may take into account in determining whether or not it is in the public interest to conduct a hearing wholly or partly in public, the Commission is to consider the following:(a) the benefit of exposing to the public, and making it aware of, officer misconduct,(b) the seriousness of the allegation or complaint being investigated,(c) any risk of undue prejudice to a person’s reputation (including by not holding the hearing in public),(d) whether the public interest in exposing the matter is outweighed by the public interest in preserving the privacy of the persons concerned.(4) The Commission may give directions as to the persons who may be present at a hearing when it is being held in private. A person must not be present at a hearing in contravention of any such direction.
34 Right of appearance of affected person
(cf ICAC Act s 32)
If it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commission that any person is substantially and directly interested in any subject-matter of a hearing, the Commission may authorise the person to appear at the hearing or a specified part of the hearing.
(cf ICAC Act s 33)
(1) The Commission may, in relation to a hearing, authorise:(a) a person giving evidence at the hearing, or(b) a person referred to in section 34, to be represented by an Australian legal practitioner at the hearing or a specified part of the hearing.(2) The Commission is required to give a reasonable opportunity for a person giving evidence at the hearing to be legally represented.(3) An Australian legal practitioner appointed by the Commission to assist it may appear before the Commission.
36 Groups and unincorporated associations
(cf ICAC Act s 33A)
(1) Groups and unincorporated associations may be authorised to appear at a hearing or authorised or required to give evidence at a hearing.(2) Accordingly, references in sections 34 and 35 to a “person” extend for this purpose to a group or unincorporated association.(3) However, this section does not affect the application in any other context of the principle that a reference to a word in the singular form includes a reference to the word in the plural form.
37 Examination and cross-examination of witnesses
(cf ICAC Act s 34)
(1) A person authorised or required to appear at a hearing, or a person’s Australian legal practitioner authorised to appear at a hearing, may, with the leave of the Commission, examine or cross-examine any witness on any matter that the Commission considers relevant.(2) An Australian legal practitioner appointed by the Commission to assist it may examine or cross-examine any witness on any matter that the Commission considers relevant.(3) Any witness examined or cross-examined under this section has the same protection and is subject to the same liabilities as if examined by the Commissioner or an Assistant Commissioner.
38 Power to summon witnesses and take evidence
(cf ICAC Act s 35)
(1) The Commissioner may summon a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing at a time and place named in the summons:(a) to give evidence, or(b) to produce such documents or other things (if any) as are referred to in the summons,or both.(2) The person presiding at a hearing before the Commission may require a person appearing at the hearing to produce a document or other thing.(3) The Commission may, at a hearing, take evidence on oath or affirmation and for that purpose:(a) the person presiding at the hearing may require a person appearing at the hearing to give evidence either to take an oath or make an affirmation in a form approved by the person presiding, and(b) the person presiding, or a person authorised for the purpose by the person presiding, may administer an oath or affirmation to a person so appearing at the hearing.(4) A witness who has been summoned to attend before the Commission must appear and report himself or herself from day to day unless the witness is excused from attendance or until the witness is released from further attendance by the person presiding at the hearing.(5) A person who, without being so excused or released, fails to appear and report is taken to have failed to appear before the Commission in obedience to the summons.(6) A Judge or Magistrate may, on the application of the Commissioner, issue any summons that the Commissioner is authorised to issue under this section.(7) The purpose of subsection (6) is to enable the summons to be given the character of a summons by a judicial officer, for the purposes of the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 of the Commonwealth and any other relevant law.