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18. The Attorney General takes the final decision whether a person is qualified for protection from bodily injury and otherwise to assure the health, safety and welfare of that person. In a large number of cases, witnesses have been protected, relocated and sometimes even given new identities. The Programme assists in providing housing, medical care, job training and assistance in obtaining employment and subsistence funding until the witness becomes self-sufficient. The Attorney General shall not provide protection to any person if the risk of danger to the public, including the potential harm to innocent victims, overweighs the need for that person's testimony. A similar programme is in Canada under Witness Protection Act, 1996. The purpose of the Act is "to promote law enforcement by facilitating the protection of persons who are involved directly or indirectly in providing assistance in law enforcement matters" [Section 3]. Protection given to a witness may include relocation, accommodation and change of identity as well as counseling and financial support to ensure the security of the protectee or to facilitate his becoming self-sufficient. Admission to the Programme is determined by the Commissioner of Police on a recommendation by a law enforcement agency or an .international criminal court or tribunal [Sections 5 and 6]. The extent of protection depends on the nature of the risk to the security of the witness, the value of the evidence and the importance in the matter.

19. The Australian Witness Protection Act, 1994 establishes the National Witness Protection Programme in which (amongst others) the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police arranges or provides protection and other assistance for witnesses [Section 4]. The witness must disclose a wealth of information about himself before he is included in the Programme. This includes his outstanding legal obligations, details of his criminal history, details of his financial liabilities and assets etc. [Section 7]. The Commissioner has the sole responsibility of deciding whether to include a witness in the Programme.