Editing Right to silence (section)

===Australia===
{{See also|Right to silence in Australia}}
Australia has no constitutional protection for the right to silence,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2001/25.html/|title=Azzopardi v R [2001] HCA 25; 205 CLR 50; 179 ALR 349; 75 ALJR 931 (3 May 2001)|website=www.austlii.edu.au|access-date=17 February 2018}}</ref> but it is broadly recognized by State and Federal Crimes Acts and Codes and is regarded by the courts as an important common law right and a part of the privilege against self-incrimination.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Traditional Rights and Freedoms -Encroachments by Commonwealth Law |journal=ALRC Interim Report |date=July 2015 |issue=127 |pages= |doi= |pmid= |url=https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/alrc_127_interim_report.pdf  |access-date=19 June 2021 |publisher=Australian Law Reform Commission |isbn= 978-0-9943202-0-9}}</ref> In general, criminal suspects in Australia have the right to refuse to answer questions posed to them by police before trial and to refuse to give evidence at trial. As a general rule judges cannot direct juries to draw [[adverse inference]]s from a defendant's silence (''Petty v R'') but there are exceptions to this rule, most notably in cases which rely entirely on [[circumstantial evidence]] which it is only possible for the defendant to testify about (''Weissensteiner v R''). This exception has been abolished in Victoria by sections 42 and 44 of the ''Jury Directions Act 2015''. The right does not apply to corporations (''EPA v Caltex'').

Within Australia, the right to silence derives from [[common law|common law's]] [[Companion rule (Australian Criminal law)|Companion rule]]. The basic position is [[adverse inference]] may not be drawn about the defendant's culpability, where he/she does not answer police questions. While this is the common law position, it is buttressed by various legislative provisions. Some investigations can strip the right, such as those undertaken by the [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales)|Independent Commission Against Corruption]].