11 August 2026
Melbourne Press Club says the State Government’s plans to reform suppression orders don’t go far enough
Today’s announcement by the State Government that it recognises shortcomings in Victoria’s suppression order regime has been labelled as a small step in the right direction by the Melbourne Press Club.
However, the proposals lack ambition, are too limited, and will not address a number of pressing problems with open justice in this state. The Press Club urged the government to go further.
Ending suppression orders for people already convicted of rape does nothing to address the far larger problem caused by suppressing reporting of proceedings of all kinds at the filing hearing, committal and trial stages, when the public interest in open reporting is often at its highest.
The announcement also fails to address the low evidentiary threshold currently required to obtain a suppression order. Under the Open Courts Act 2013 (Vic), orders are too readily granted on thin or untested material.
Reform that leaves that threshold untouched means trials will still be conducted in secret. It will not deliver open justice – whatever it does after the point of conviction.
Restrictions on legitimate reporting are preventing the public from seeing how the criminal justice system actually operates. Open justice is essential to upholding the public’s trust in our justice system.
The Press Club welcomes the government’s commitment to review interim suppression orders and proceeding suppression orders.
This review must adopt strict limits on duration of interim orders, as exists in other states.
We also call on the government to review the courts’ tightening restrictions on access to important documents in criminal and civil cases.
And we call on the courts to abide by the legislation requiring them to give three days notice of a suppression order application.
“Today’s announcements are welcome, but limited — and light on detail,” said Melbourne Press Club President Michael Bachelard.
“The government and opposition should commit before the election to a much broader review into the law governing cases in Victoria, including the test that must be met before a suppression order is granted.
“As they stand, these laws make it far too difficult in this state to keep the public informed.”
Melbourne University academic and lawyer Associate Prof Jason Bosland said: “Open Justice is essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice.
“Suppression orders that are made in circumstances that do not meet community expectations have a corrosive effect on such confidence and ultimately undermine the rule of law.”
Thomsons media lawyer and partner Justin Quill welcomed the government's openness to reforming what he labelled Victoria's ‘’broken‘’ suppression order laws.
‘’But of course the devil is in the detail. I hope there will be real legislative change put forward and not just the vague motherhood statements set out in today's announcement".
Melbourne University hosted a round-table attended by the Melbourne Press Club on Monday to discuss reform to the Open Courts Act.