Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

EVIDENCE ACT 2011 - SECT 127

    (1)     A person who is or was a member of the clergy of a church or religious denomination is entitled to refuse to divulge that a religious confession was made, or the contents of a religious confession made, to the person when a member of the clergy.

    (2)     Subsection (1) does not apply if—

        (a)     the communication involved in the religious confession was made for a criminal purpose; or

        (b)     the religious confession includes information relating to—

              (i)     a child or young person that is experiencing, or that has experienced, sexual abuse or non-accidental physical injury; or

              (ii)     a substantial risk that a child or young person may experience sexual abuse or non-accidental physical injury.

    (3)     This section applies even if an Act provides—

        (a)     that the rules of evidence do not apply or that an entity is not bound by the rules of evidence; or

        (b)     that a person is not excused from answering a question or producing a document or other thing on the ground of privilege or any other ground.

    (4)     In this section:

"religious confession" means a confession made by a person to a member of the clergy in the member's professional capacity according to the ritual of the member's church or religious denomination.