Crimes Act 1914
Note:
These obligations apply in relation to protected suspects as well as to people under arrest.
View history note
Hide history noteSubject to section 23L , if an investigating official:
(a) interviews a person as a suspect (whether under arrest or not) for a Commonwealth offence, and believes on reasonable grounds that the person is under 18; or
(b) believes on reasonable grounds that a person who is under arrest or a protected suspec is under 18;
the official must not question the person unless an interview friend is present while the person is being questioned and, before the start of the questioning, the official has allowed the person to communicate with the interview friend in circumstances in which, as far as practicable, the communication will not be overheard.
(2)
An interview friend may be excluded from the questioning if he or she unreasonably interferes with it.
(3)
In this section:
interview friend
, in relation to a person to whom subsection (1) applies, means:
(a) a parent or guardian of the person or a legal practitioner acting for the person; or
(b) if none of the previously mentioned persons is available - a relative or friend of the person who is acceptable to the person; or
(c) if the person is an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander and none of the previously mentioned persons is available - a person who is a representative of an Aboriginal legal assistance organisation in the State or Territory in which the person is located; or
(d) if no person covered by paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is available - an independent person.
(4)
The rights conferred by this section are in addition to those conferred by section 23G but, so far as compliance with this section results in compliance with section 23G , the requirements of section 23G are satisfied.
Disclaimer and notice of copyright applicable to materials provided by CCH Australia Limited
CCH Australia Limited ("CCH") believes that all information which it has provided in this site is accurate and reliable, but gives no warranty of accuracy or reliability of such information to the reader or any third party. The information provided by CCH is not legal or professional advice. To the extent permitted by law, no responsibility for damages or loss arising in any way out of or in connection with or incidental to any errors or omissions in any information provided is accepted by CCH or by persons involved in the preparation and provision of the information, whether arising from negligence or otherwise, from the use of or results obtained from information supplied by CCH.
The information provided by CCH includes history notes and other value-added features which are subject to CCH copyright. No CCH material may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, except that you may download one copy for your personal use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. In particular, the reproduction of any part of the information for sale or incorporation in any product intended for sale is prohibited without CCH's prior consent.
