AW v The Queen

The applicant, AW, applied for a take down order under the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) to remove his name from various online publications. The applicant was charged with a series of sexual assault offences. Subsequently, he was charged with another set of sexual assault offences. Publications concerning these additional charges were accessible online and referred to the applicant by name. The applicant sought to have his name removed from these publications during the trial for the initial set of offences, to prevent potential prejudice to the administration of justice. The court was required to determine whether the orders sought were necessary to prevent prejudice, whether there was a risk that jurors might disregard judicial directions by conducting their own investigations, and whether the orders would be futile or ineffective. The court considered the impact on search engine results if selected publications were removed.

The court held that the orders were necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice. The risk that jurors would conduct their own investigations, despite judicial directions, was deemed significant enough to warrant the removal of the applicant's name from the online publications. The court found that the orders would not be futile or ineffective, as they targeted specific publications that were likely to influence potential jurors. The removal of these selected publications was expected to have a meaningful impact on search engine results, reducing the visibility of the prejudicial information. Consequently, the court granted the application for the take down order.