NSW Webpage as Evidence in Affidavit

[sunnyDay]

Hi,

I am writing an Affidavit for a Tribunal hearing. I am self represented. I am using information from web pages, mostly from the Australian Government, to prove that the facts I rely on are true.
What is the correct way to reference a webpage?

Currently, I am putting the URL in the Affidavit and attaching the full article in the Exhibit. However, some of the articles are 10+ pages long and I am only using information from a few paragraphs.
Do I need to be attaching the full article? Or can I attach only the relevant sections? Or is putting the URL in the Affidavit enough and I don't need to attach the article at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

First, check the rules of the Tribunal as to how they want it done. This can differ widely. For example:
- Affidavits in the Federal Circuit Court: annexures must be attached;
- Affidavits in the Family Court: annexures must not be attached.

Then if there is no specific rule, my personal suggestion is to do the following.

First, make sure it is relevant for an affidavit and not a 'supporting argument' - which have no place in an affidavit.

If the webpage and article are likely to remain in place:
- Refer to the title of the article and author in the body of the affidavit if that information is known;
- Quote the specific text you're relying on, as narrowly as possible;
- Footnote the quote by giving the full URL; and
- Do not annex the full article.

However, keep a copy of the full webpage rendered into PDF just in case it 'disappears'. There's generally no need to annex publicly available documents to an affidavit.

If the webpage/article are possibly going to disappear or change, annex a copy to the affidavit.

 

[sunnyDay]

Thanks for your advice Rob.

 

[Tim W]

I am writing an Affidavit for a Tribunal hearing.

Which Tribunal?