Which act introduced s89A allowing unfavourable inferences for silence in serious indictable matters?

• A. Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
• B. Evidence Amendment (Evidence of Silence) Act 2013 (NSW)
• C. Evidence Act 1995 (NSW)
• D. LEPRA

Answer: (B)

The change to how silence is treated in serious indictable cases comes from a targeted amendment that introduced a new provision into the NSW evidentiary framework. The Evidence Amendment (Evidence of Silence) Act 2013 (NSW) added s89A, allowing an unfavourable inference to be drawn from a person’s silence after they have been charged with a serious indictable offence and given a real opportunity to respond. This creates a narrow exception to the general rule that silence isn’t used to infer guilt, balancing fairness with the ability to rely on silence in specific, serious contexts. The other options don’t introduce this particular provision: the Criminal Procedure Act governs procedures, the main Evidence Act provides the broader rules but the exact rule comes from the 2013 amendment, and LEPRA concerns police powers rather than evidentiary inferences.