Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this section, the hearing of proceedings before a court martial or a Defence Force magistrate shall be in public.
(2) In proceedings before a court martial or a Defence Force magistrate, the President of the court martial or the Defence Force magistrate may, if the President considers it necessary in the interests of the security or defence of Australia, the proper administration of justice or public morals:
(a) order that some or all of the members of the public shall be excluded during the whole or a specified part of the proceedings; or
(b) order that no report of, or relating to, the whole or a specified part of the proceedings shall be published.
(3) The President of a court martial shall not make an order under subsection (2) unless the President has first consulted the judge advocate.
(4) Where proceedings before a court martial or a Defence Force magistrate are held in a secure place, the appropriate service chief shall cause such steps to be taken as will permit the public to have reasonable access, subject to an order (if any) in force under subsection (2), to the proceedings.
(5) In subsection (4), secure place means a place the entry to which is controlled by guards who are constables or members of the Defence Force.