Perjury and false evidence in Queensland

What perjury requires

Section 123 requires that, in a judicial proceeding or for the purpose of instituting one, you knowingly gave false testimony touching a matter which is material to a question then pending or intended to be raised.

Four things must all be present:

1. A judicial proceeding. Defined broadly to include any proceeding in which evidence may be taken on oath, including tribunals and commissions.
2. Testimony. Sworn or affirmed evidence, oral or in an affidavit.
3. Falsity, known to you. An honest mistake is not perjury. Neither is an unreliable recollection, however wrong it turns out to be.
4. Materiality. The false statement must be material to a question then pending. A false answer about something irrelevant is not perjury.

Section 125 provides that a person cannot be convicted of perjury on the evidence of one witness alone as to the falsity of the statement. There must be corroboration. That single rule is why so few perjury prosecutions are brought.

The related offences that get charged instead

Section 140, attempting to pervert the course of justice, is charged far more often than perjury. It covers a much wider range of conduct, including asking a witness to change their story, providing a false alibi, taking someone else traffic infringement, and giving a false name to police.

Where these charges come from

In practice, perjury and related charges in Queensland arise in a few recurring situations:

• A false affidavit in a family law or domestic violence proceeding, which is by a wide margin the most common source.
• A retraction, where a complainant swears one version to police and a contradictory version later. Prosecutors are cautious here, because charging complainants deters reporting, but it does happen.
• A false statutory declaration nominating another driver for a speed or red light camera offence, which is charged under section 140 or the Transport Operations legislation.
• A false alibi given on oath at a committal or trial.
• Evidence given to a commission of inquiry or a Crime and Corruption Commission hearing.

Defending and mitigating

The realistic defences are narrow but effective:

• Knowledge. The prosecution must prove you knew the statement was false when you made it. Confusion, poor memory, misunderstanding a question, and reliance on a document later shown to be wrong are all inconsistent with knowledge.
• Materiality. If the false statement did not touch a question then pending, it is not perjury, though section 193 may still apply.
• Corroboration, section 125. One witness saying you lied is not enough as a matter of law.
• Retraction. Correcting the evidence during the same proceeding, before it causes harm, is powerful mitigation and can lead to the charge not being pursued.

Perjury is an indictable offence that must be dealt with on indictment. If you have been asked to give evidence and you are worried that a previous statement was untrue, get advice before you go into the witness box, not after.