The High Court unanimously allowed an appeal from a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court concerning the compulsory examination of an employee in a coronial inquest while parallel criminal proceedings against his employer were pending. The Full Court of the Federal Court had held that s 87(1)(b) of the Evidence Act 2011 (ACT) would make the evidence of an employee in a coronial inquest admissible in the criminal proceedings as evidence of admission by his corporate employer, such that compelling the employee to give evidence in the coronial inquest would infringe the rule that an accused cannot be required to assist the Crown to prove its case. The High Court held that the fact an employee can be compelled to give evidence which may be treated as an admission against his or her employer does not mean the employer is in effect compelled to give evidence or otherwise assist the Crown in proof of its case.
