Victims InformationYour privacy
If you're a victim or a witness in a case, the court can do things to protect your privacy, like:
- ensuring that evidence given to the court does not disclose your contact details, unless the judge specifically allows this
- making an order for name suppression for victims of sexual violence and children. This means that your name and any details that might identify you cannot be published
- making an order requiring everyone (except the parties to the case) to leave the court and forbid any reporting of the case.
Youth Courts are closed and certain cases in Coroners Courts cannot be reported.
Name suppression
Sometimes, the defendant might apply for name suppression. The prosecutor will tell you if this happens and you have the right to tell the court how you feel about the defendant being granted name suppression.
Dealing with the media
Some cases attract media attention and the media can report things that undermine your privacy. The media can usually report the names of witnesses and their evidence. This does not apply to the names and identifying details of complainants (victims) in sexual abuse cases or witnesses under the age of 17 years.
Read more in Dealing with the media.
Read about your right if the offender applies for name suppression
Right to express your views on name suppression
If the offender applies to the court for permanent name suppression, you have the right to say what you think about the application.
Children and young people who offend and victims in the youth justice system automatically get name suppression. Other information that could be used to identify offenders or victims is also suppressed.
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