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Researchers say Victorian courts at 'crisis point' with media suppressions

Victoria accounted for nearly half of all media suppression orders handed down in Australia in 2023. (ABC News: Demi Lynch)

Media researchers say Victoria has reached a "crisis point" with the number of suppression orders being granted across the state to curtail court reporting.

Victorian courts lead the nation in the number of suppression orders handed down, with more than one order handed down every day in the state.

Suppression orders have been used in recent years to prevent the reporting of details in high profile cases, including the rape trial of Tom Silvagni.

Victorian judges and magistrates handed down the most gag orders in the nation and at one point were averaging more than one a day, according to new research which has found public interest journalism in the state has reached a "crisis point".

‘It’s wrong’: Former judge says mental health suppression orders threaten court system

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Victoria’s top law officer says she is working to balance the need for transparency in the courts with the right to a fair trial, after a report warned of a “crisis” in open justice.

But a former Supreme Court judge has defended the system, saying it is psychiatrists providing evidence for mental health suppression orders who pose the biggest threat to transparency, and that while some judges are “dills”, they are outliers in the profession.

The Age reported on Tuesday that a Monash University study, commissioned by the Melbourne Press Club, judged Victoria’s court system to be the least transparent in Australia.

Open justice no more: how Victoria’s courts are stopping journalists from doing their jobs

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

Covering the courts can be a tough gig. The pace is fast, there are many legal considerations to be across, and media outlets are hungry for quality stories, quickly.

Our study aimed to capture the experience of senior reporters covering the courts in Melbourne and Victoria. We conducted in-depth inverviews with 12 journalists from five of the major media outlets in Victoria.

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