Freedom of Press Secured by Shield Law
Thursday 31 January 2013 @ 9.28 a.m. | Legal Research
With the commencement of the Evidence Amendment (Journalist Privilege) Act 2012 (Vic) on the 1 January 2013, Victoria’s Evidence Act 2008 now includes a clause providing for journalist privilege relating to the identity of informants, known as the ‘shield law’.
The new section 126K(1) provides:
“If a journalist, in the course of the journalist’s work, has promised an informant not to disclose the informant’s identity, neither the journalist nor his or her employer is compellable to give evidence that would disclose the identity of the informant or enable that identity to be ascertained.”
However, where the public interest may outweigh any likely adverse consequences on the informant resulting from disclosure, the court may still override this clause.
Before the amendment, there was no explicit legal protection provided to journalists who did not want to reveal the identity of their sources. This often led to ethical dilemmas when they are legally coerced to reveal their sources. The journalist who did not reveal his source faced charges of contempt of court and could face severe punishments. Following the Commonwealth and New South Wales version of the ‘shield law’, Victoria’s amendment marks the third addition to Australia’s suite of journalist privileges.
However, the Victorian legislation, much like the NSW legislation, will be confined to professional journalists only and will not extend the privilege to cover amateur bloggers. This seems a necessary cut-off to protect against vilifications and defamation by bloggers based on questionable source. The law still recognises that freedom of the press is vital to a democratic society but is also aware of the need to protect society from unsubstantiated claims.
To read more see Explainer: Journalist’s Privilege – shield law click here.
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