Director Or Public Prosecutions of Victoria and Douglas

The Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria and Douglas concerned an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for access to and publication of details from a Family Court of Australia file. The application was heard by Cronin J.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the DPP, in the context of Supreme Court of Victoria proceedings involving the husband, could be permitted to access and publish details from a Family Court file, notwithstanding the confidentiality provisions typically afforded to such records under section 121 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

Cronin J reasoned that while section 121 of the *Family Law Act 1975* generally prohibits the publication of identifying information from Family Court files, it contains exceptions. The court found that the DPP's need to use the file in Supreme Court proceedings, and to publish details to the extent necessary for a trial, justified an order permitting such access and publication. The court ordered that the Family Court file be copied and released to the DPP, with permission to publish details necessary for the Supreme Court trial, even if it identified the parties to the original Family Court proceedings. The remainder of the DPP's application was dismissed.