Murray and Murray (No. 5)

In the matter of *Murray and Murray (No. 5)*, Justice Watts of the Family Court of Australia considered applications for suppression and non-publication orders. The proceedings involved the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force, and the parties to the family law proceedings, referred to as the Husband and Wife. The core of the dispute revolved around the publication of various orders and reasons for judgment previously delivered by the Court in the *Murray and Murray* proceedings.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to grant permission to the Commissioner of Police to amend an application, and crucially, whether to impose suppression and non-publication orders on specific judgments and orders made in the *Murray and Murray* proceedings. These orders were sought pursuant to sections 102PE(1)(b)(i) and 102PF(1)(a) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), with the stated purpose of preventing publication until the conclusion of related criminal proceedings in the NSW District Court, specifically *R v Mr A*, and any subsequent appeals.

Justice Watts granted the Commissioner of Police leave to amend their application. The Court then made extensive orders prohibiting the publication of several sets of reasons for judgment and orders, including those delivered on 11 October 2019, 18 November 2019 (Nos. 2 and 3), 17 December 2019, and 31 January 2020. These prohibitions were to remain in effect until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against Mr A and any appeals therefrom, or until further order. The Court also made provisions for parties to obtain transcripts for legal advice and appeal purposes, and ordered that certain filed documents be sealed. Notably, the property settlement orders made on 18 November 2019 and paragraph 420 of the reasons for judgment in *Murray & Murray (No. 3)* were explicitly excluded from the non-publication orders. The Court also approved the use of a pseudonym for the publication of its judgment.