Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered Acts(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a court or tribunal—
(a) may order that the whole or any part of a proceeding be heard in closed court or closed tribunal; or
(b) may order that only persons or classes of persons specified by it may be present during the whole or any part of a proceeding.
(2) A court or tribunal other than the Coroners Court may make a closed court order if satisfied as to one or more of the following grounds—
(a) the order is necessary to prevent a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice that cannot be prevented by other reasonably available means;
Example
Other reasonably available means may include directions to the jury, making a proceeding suppression order, or orders excluding only certain persons or a more limited class of persons from the court or tribunal.
(b) the order is necessary to prevent prejudice to the interests of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory in relation to national or international security;
(c) the order is necessary to protect the safety of any person;
(d) the order is necessary to avoid causing undue distress or embarrassment to a complainant or witness in any criminal proceeding involving a sexual offence or a family violence offence;
(e) the order is necessary to avoid causing undue distress or embarrassment to a child who is a witness in any criminal proceeding;
(f) in the case of VCAT, the order is necessary—
(i) to avoid the disclosure of confidential information or information the subject of a certificate under section 53 or 54 of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 ;
(ii) for any other reason in the interests of justice.
(3) The Coroners Court may make a closed court order if the coroner constituting the Coroners Court reasonably believes that an order is necessary in the public interest, having regard to the matters specified in Part 2 of the Coroners Act 2008 .