New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILDREN (CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS) ACT 1987 - SECT 15A

15A Publishing and broadcasting of names prohibited

(1) The name of a person must not be published or broadcast in a way that connects the person with criminal proceedings if--

(a) the proceedings relate to the person and the person was a child when the offence to which the proceedings relate was committed, or

(b) the person appears as a witness in the proceedings and was a child when the offence to which the proceedings relate was committed (whether or not the person was a child when appearing as a witness), or

(c) the person is mentioned in the proceedings in relation to something that occurred when the person was a child, or

(d) the person is otherwise involved in the proceedings and was a child when so involved, or

(e) the person is a brother or sister of a victim of the offence to which the proceedings relate, and that person and the victim were both children when the offence was committed.

(2) This section applies only to the publication or broadcast of a person's name to the public, or a section of the public, by publication in a newspaper or periodical publication, by radio or television broadcast or other electronic broadcast, by the Internet, or by any other means of dissemination.

(3) The publication of information to an Internet website that provides the opportunity for, or facilitates or enables, dissemination of information to the public or a section of the public (whether or not the particular publication results in the dissemination of information to the public or a section of the public) constitutes the publication of information to the public or a section of the public for the purposes of this section.

(4) This section applies to the publication or broadcast of the name of a person--

(a) whether the publication or broadcast occurs before or after the proceedings concerned are disposed of, and

(b) even if the person is no longer a child, or is deceased, at the time of the publication or broadcast.

(5) A reference in this Division to the name of a person includes a reference to any information, picture or other material that identifies the person or is likely to lead to the identification of the person.

(6) A reference in this Division to a person who appears as a witness before a court in any criminal proceedings includes a reference to a child who gives evidence in the form of a recording in proceedings in accordance with Division 3 of Part 6 of Chapter 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 .

(6A) A reference in this Division to criminal proceedings includes a reference to a hearing under Part 4C of the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 .

(7) A person who publishes or broadcasts the name of any person the publication or broadcasting of which is prohibited by this section is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--500 penalty units (in the case of a corporation) or 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both (in any other case).

(8) Proceedings for an offence against this section that are brought before the Local Court must be commenced within 2 years of the date of the alleged offence.