Registrar v Nationwide News Limited; Registrar v The Age Company Ltd; Registrar v The Herald & Weekly Times Ltd

The matter before the court involved three defendants, Nationwide News Limited, The Age Company Ltd, and The Herald & Weekly Times Ltd, who were charged with contempt of court for publishing a photograph that was subject to a suppression order. The defendants were unaware of the suppression order at the time of publication. The third defendant pleaded not guilty and was found guilty following a trial, while the first and second defendants entered guilty pleas. The court was required to determine the appropriate penalty for the contempt of court charge and whether the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) applied to civil contempt.

The court considered the submissions of counsel, who argued that the Sentencing Act provisions could be applied to the contempt charge, as per the reasoning in Registrar of the Supreme Court v Zappia (No 2). The court agreed with this approach and rejected the Full Court decision in Nicholls v Director of Public Prosecutions, which had suggested that the Sentencing Act did not apply to civil contempt. The court determined that a conviction of contempt of court is a criminal offence, and the punishment should reflect the considerations applicable to the punishment of crime. The court also considered the relevant factors in determining the penalty, such as the intention of the party who perpetrated the contempt, their antecedents, expressions of contrition, attitude towards their responsibilities to the administration of justice, the circumstances of the publication, and the gravity of the contempt.

The court found that the contempts, although unintentional, were serious and had the potential to interfere substantially in the administration of justice. The discretion to proceed without recording a conviction should not be exercised in this case, as the defendants had maintained a relatively unblemished record for offences of this nature and had taken steps to reduce the risk of further offences. The court ultimately convicted each defendant and imposed a fine.

The final orders of the court were that Nationwide News Limited, The Age Company Ltd, and The Herald & Weekly Times Ltd were each convicted of contempt of court and fined a specified amount. The court's decision clarified the applicable legal principles and factors to consider when determining the penalty for a contempt of court charge.