Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023C00203:clause:6_167f:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023C00203
Segment Type: clause
Provision Reference: sch 6 cl 167F (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 194311–196970

167F  Sexual offence proceedings—publication identifying complainants
 (1) A person commits an offence if:
 (a) the person publishes any matter; and
 (b) the person does not have the leave of the court to publish the matter; and
 (c) the matter identifies, or is likely to lead to the identification of, another person (the identified person) as a complainant in a sexual offence proceeding.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 12 months, or 60 penalty units, or both.
 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if:
 (a) the publication is in an official publication in the course of, and for the purpose of, the proceeding; or
 (b) the publication is in a document prepared for use in particular legal proceedings (whether or not the legal proceedings are a sexual offence proceeding); or
 (c) the identified person is aged 14 years or older and the publication is made with the consent of the identified person; or
 (d) the publication happens after the death of the identified person.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection, see section 58 of the Criminal Code 2007.
 (3) The court may give leave to a person to publish the matter.
 (4) In deciding whether to give leave, the court is to have regard to:
 (a) any trauma to the identified person that the publication could cause; and
 (b) any damage to the reputation of the identified person that the publication could cause; and
 (c) any view of the identified person about the publication; and
 (d) whether the publication is:
 (i) for the purpose of supplying transcripts of the proceedings to persons with a genuine interest in the proceedings; or
 (ii) for genuine research purposes; and
 (e) whether the publication is in the public interest.
 (5) Leave may be given after the proceedings have finished. For this purpose, the court need not be constituted by the same judicial officers who constituted the court in the proceedings.
 (6) An application for leave under this section must be in writing.
 (7) A person who makes an application for leave under this section must take reasonable steps to give written notice of the application to each of the following:
 (a) the identified person;
 (b) the prosecutor in the proceeding;
 (c) each defendant in the proceeding;
 (d) each other complainant in the proceeding.
 (8) If the identified person or a party referred to in paragraph (7)(d) is a child at the time the application is made, the notice must be given to a parent, guardian or legal representative of the identified person or the party, as the case may be.
 (9) A notice under subsection (7) must:
 (a) be given no later than 3 business days before the day