A court may make a suppression order in accordance with the Evidence Act 1929 (SA) section 69A, where it is satisfied such an order would prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice, or to prevent undue hardship to an alleged victim, a potential witness or a child [see s 69A(1)].

A court may also make a suppression order in relation to evidence given by, or relating to, a defendant if they assert that an offence for which they are charged:

[see 69A(1a)].

When considering making such an order, the Court must recognise the primary objective of the administration of justice, namely safeguarding the public interest in open justice and the consequential right of the news media to publish information relating to court proceedings [see s 69A(2)(a)]. A court may only make a suppression order in accordance with section 69A if it is satisfied that special circumstances exist which give rise to a sufficiently serious threat of prejudice to the proper administration of justice, or undue hardship so as to justify the making of the order [see s 69A(2)(b)].

It is an offence to disobey a suppression order made in accordance with section 69A which may be actioned as a contempt of court [see Evidence Act 1929 (SA) s 70(1)]. The maximum penalty for a natural person is a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for two years; and for a body corporate, a fine of $120 000 [see s 70(1a)].

Restriction on reporting on sexual offences

Unless an accused person consents, the identity of a person charged with a sexual offence is only suppressed until their first appearance in Court in relation to the charge is concluded (whether the accused appears personally or by solicitor/counsel). The maximum penalty for breaching this suppression is $10 000 for individuals and $120 000 for corporations [s 71A(2) Evidence Act 1929 (SA)].

A police officer (or any other person acting in an official capacity who is responsible for conducting the criminal investigation) must ensure that all reasonable steps are made to notify the victim before this time. [s 71A(2a)].

A victim's identity may only be published with the victim's consent or a judge's authorisation [s 71A(4)] but no consent or authorisation can ever be given where the alleged victim is a child.The same penalty applies to unlawful publication of victim's identity information.