Hi there. It is not clear from the information you provided what you mean by “stopped and questioned about phone use”. We have assumed that you were stopped and questioned by a police officer because you were using your mobile phone whilst driving a vehicle.

It is an offence under the Road Safety Road Rules 2009 (Vic) to use your mobile phone whilst driving a vehicle. A police officer has the power to issue an infringement notice or charge a person if the officer reasonably believes that person has violated a road rule or committed some other criminal offence. It is not clear why the officer did not inform you that you had committed an offence and were being issued an infringement notice or penalty. This may have been due to a miscommunication or misunderstanding, or a failure by the police officer to properly inform you of why you were stopped and questioned. Generally, police officers must have a reason for questioning a person and they must tell you that reason if you ask them. In any event, it is unlikely that your infringement notice or charge is invalid simply because you did not realise you were being charged with an offence at the time.

You asked whether you should have been shown the police officer’s notes about the incident at the time you were stopped by the officer. An officer is not legally required to show you what they have written about an incident, as it is merely a record of what he or she has observed. This information forms the basis of the ‘police statement’ that will be read out in court, if the matter is to proceed to a court hearing. If you disagree with what the officer recorded, you can dispute the contents of the police statement when you attend the court hearing and are asked by the Magistrate to present your case.

You also said your date of birth on the charge sheet is incorrect. This does not mean the charge sheet is invalid and a Magistrate can order the charge sheet to be amended if necessary. These rules are set out in the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic).