Pledge to change suppression order law is small progress that smacks of lip service

August 12, 2026 — 5:00am

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On Tuesday, the state government announced it would close a loophole in the administration of justice in this state. Premier Ben Carroll and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said legislation would follow the November election amending the Open Courts Act to somewhat limit the use of suppression orders.

Under the proposed changes, should Labor win the election, convicted rapists would not be able to use legal manoeuvres, designed to help victims and protect witnesses, to hide their identities through a suppression order after a conviction.

The government is also reviewing the operation of interim suppression orders.

“We are going to stop suppression orders being used to protect convicted rapists. Suppression orders were designed to protect victim-survivors, not convicted rapists,” Carroll said.

Kilkenny noted that justice must be both open and balance the right to a fair trial.

“But we have seen most recently that we need to look at this. We need to listen,” she said.

Indeed,........

© The Age