Queensland Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE ACT 1977 - SECT 103ZE

103ZE Court to exclude public while complainant gives evidence

(1) This section applies in relation to a criminal proceeding that relates, wholly or partly, to a charge for a sexual offence.

(2) While a complainant gives evidence in the proceeding, the court must exclude from the courtroom all persons other than the following—

(a) the counsel and solicitor of the complainant;

(b) the defendant and the defendant’s counsel and solicitor;

(c) a Crown law officer or a person authorised by a Crown law officer;

(d) the prosecutor;

(e) an intermediary under part 2 , division 4C for the complainant;

(f) any person whose presence is, in the opinion of the court, necessary or desirable for the proper conduct of the proceeding;

(g) any person whose presence will provide emotional support to the complainant;

(h) if the complainant is under or apparently under the age of 17 years—the parent or guardian of the complainant unless, in the court’s opinion, the presence of that person would not be in the complainant’s interests;

(i) any person who makes application to the court to be present and whose presence, in the court’s opinion—

(i) would serve a proper interest of the applicant; and

(ii) would not be prejudicial to the interests of the complainant.

(3) Subsection (2) applies regardless of the way in which the complainant gives evidence.

Examples of ways in which the complainant may give evidence—

• the complainant gives evidence outside the courtroom and the evidence is transmitted to the courtroom by audio visual link or other means

• the complainant’s evidence is pre-recorded and later presented in the courtroom

• an audio visual or audio recording of the complainant, such as body worn camera footage of the complainant speaking to a police officer or another person, is presented in the courtroom

(4) Subsection (2) does not limit the power of the court to exclude from the courtroom any person, including a defendant.

(5) If the criminal proceeding is a trial by jury, the judge must instruct the jury that—

(a) they should not draw any inference as to the defendant’s guilt from the exclusion of the public; and

(b) the probative value of the evidence is not increased or decreased because of the exclusion of the public; and

(c) the evidence is not to be given any greater or lesser weight because of the exclusion of the public.