Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) If the imprint of a seal appears on a document and purports to be the imprint of—
(a) the Public Seal of the State; or
(b) a Royal Great Seal; or
(c) the Great Seal of Australia; or
(d) another seal of the Commonwealth; or
(e) a seal of another State, a Territory or a foreign country; or
(f) the seal of a body (including a court or a tribunal), or a body corporate, established by or under Royal Charter or by an Australian law or the law of a foreign country—
it is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the imprint is the imprint of that seal, and the document was duly sealed as it purports to have been sealed.
Note
The Commonwealth Act has a different subsection (1).
(2) If the imprint of a seal appears on a document and purports to be the imprint of the seal of an office holder, it is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that—
(a) the imprint is the imprint of that seal; and
(b) the document was duly sealed by the office holder acting in his or her official capacity; and
(c) the office holder held the relevant office when the document was sealed.
(3) If a document purports to have been signed by an office holder in his or her official capacity, it is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that—
(a) the document was signed by the office holder acting in that capacity; and
(b) the office holder held the relevant office when the document was signed.
(4) In this section, "office holder" means—
(a) the Sovereign; or
(b) the Governor-General; or
(c) the Governor of a State; or
(d) the Administrator of a Territory; or
(e) a person holding any other office under an Australian law or a law of a foreign country.
(5) This section extends to documents sealed, and documents signed, before the commencement of this section.
Notes
1 Section 5 of the Commonwealth Act extends the operation of this section of the Commonwealth Act to proceedings in all Australian courts.
2 Australian law is defined in the Dictionary.
3 See also section 142 of the Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958 (Forgery, using etc. false documents an indictable offence).