17 Commencement of proceedings
(1) For the purposes of section 175 (1) of the Act, a court attendance notice commencing proceedings for a summary offence is to be in the approved form.(2) For the purposes of section 175 (4) of the Act, the court attendance notice must include the following matters:(a) the time and date of the alleged offence or, if the exact time and date are not known, the period of time in which the offence is alleged to have occurred,(b) the place where the offence is alleged to have occurred.
18 Service of court attendance notices in summary proceedings
(1) A court attendance notice commencing proceedings for a summary offence is to be served on a person (the accused person) against whom the proceedings are commenced in accordance with this clause.(2) Service of a court attendance notice may be effected:(a) by handing it to the accused person, or(b) by handing it to a person at the accused person’s usual place of residence or business who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years, or(c) if the accused person is an inmate of a correctional centre, by handing it to the officer in charge of the correctional centre or by sending it by post or facsimile or other electronic communication to the officer in charge of the correctional centre, or(d) by sending it by post or facsimile to the person’s residential address not less than 21 days before the first listing date for the offence, or(e) by sending it by electronic communication to the person’s email address.(2A) In the case of a court attendance notice concerning proceedings in relation to which the accused person is represented by a legal practitioner, service of the notice may also be effected:(a) by handing it to the legal practitioner, or(b) by handing it to a person at the legal practitioner’s usual place of business who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years, or(c) by sending it by post or facsimile to the legal practitioner’s business address, or(d) by sending it by electronic mail to the legal practitioner’s email address,but only if the legal practitioner has agreed to accept service of the notice and only in accordance with a mode of service agreed to by the legal practitioner.(3) Service of a court attendance notice on a corporation may be effected by serving the notice in accordance with subclause (2) on a principal officer of the corporation or, if provision is made by or under any other Act for service of a document on the corporation, by serving the notice in accordance with that provision.(4) If, on tender of a court attendance notice to a person, the person refuses to accept it, the notice may be served by putting it down in the person’s presence after the person has been told of the nature of the notice.(5) Subclause (2) (d) and (e) do not apply to service of a court attendance notice relating to an indictable offence that is dealt with summarily.
19 Persons who may serve court attendance notices in summary proceedings
(1) A court attendance notice commencing proceedings for a summary offence issued by a public officer may be served by any of the following persons:(a) a licensed commercial agent engaged by the public officer,(b) a sheriff’s officer,(c) a relevant legal practitioner acting for the public officer or an employee of any such legal practitioner.(2) A court attendance notice commencing proceedings for a summary offence issued by a person other than a police officer or a public officer may served by any of the following persons:(a) the person who issued the notice,(b) a licensed commercial agent engaged by the person,(c) a sheriff’s officer,(d) a relevant legal practitioner acting for the person or an employee of any such legal practitioner.
20 Addresses and phone numbers not to be disclosed
(1) A copy of a brief of evidence served on an accused person under the Act must not include any written statement that discloses the address or telephone number of the person who made the statement or of any other living person, unless:(a) the address or telephone number is a materially relevant part of the evidence, or(b) a Magistrate makes an order permitting the disclosure in the statement.(2) An application for such an order may be made by the accused person or the prosecutor.(3) The Magistrate must not make any such order unless satisfied that the disclosure is not likely to present a reasonably ascertainable risk to the welfare or protection of any person or that the interests of justice (including the accused person’s right to prepare properly for the hearing of the evidence for the prosecution) outweigh any such risk.(4) This clause does not prevent the disclosure of an address in a written statement if the statement does not identify it as a particular person’s address, or it could not reasonably be inferred from the statement that it is a particular person’s address.(5) An address or telephone number that must not be disclosed may, without reference to the person who made the written statement, be deleted from the statement, or rendered illegible, before the statement is served on the accused person.
21 Service of briefs of evidence
(1) A brief of evidence in summary proceedings is to be served on the accused person in accordance with this clause.(2) Service of a brief of evidence may be effected:(a) by handing it to the accused person, or(b) if the accused person is an inmate of a correctional centre, by handing it to the officer in charge of the correctional centre or by sending it by post or facsimile or other electronic communication to the officer in charge of the correctional centre, or(c) by sending it by post or facsimile to the accused person’s residential address, or(d) by sending it by electronic communication to the accused person’s email address, or(e) with the consent of the relevant legal practitioner, by leaving it at the relevant legal practitioner’s address for service or by sending it to that address by post or facsimile or by sending it to the legal practitioner’s email address for service by electronic communication.(3) Service of a brief of evidence on a corporation may be effected by serving it in accordance with subclause (2) on a principal officer of the corporation or, if provision is made by or under any other Act for service of a document on the corporation, by serving the notice in accordance with that provision.(4) If, on tender of a brief of evidence to a person, the person refuses to accept it, it may be served by putting it down in the person’s presence after the person has been told of the nature of the document.
22 Written statements in briefs of evidence
(1) A written statement that is included in a copy of a brief of evidence may be in the form of questions and answers.(2) A written statement that is included in a copy of a brief of evidence must:(a) specify the age of the person who made the statement, and(b) be endorsed in accordance with clause 11 by the maker of the statement, and(c) be written in a language of which the person who made the statement has a reasonable understanding, and(d) be signed by the person who made the statement.(3) If the person is unable to sign the written statement, the statement may be signed by another person with the consent of and in the presence of the person who made the statement.(4) The other person must sign an endorsement on the statement to the effect that the person signed the statement on behalf of, with the consent of and in the presence of the person who made the statement.(5) A written statement must be signed by another person as a witness to the signing of the statement by the person who made it or as a witness to the signing by another person on the maker’s behalf (if applicable).(6) If a copy of the brief of evidence includes any written statement that is, wholly or in part, in a language other than English, there must be annexed to it a document purporting to contain a translation of the statement, or so much of it as is not in the English language, into the English language.