34Hearing in camera etc.

34 Hearing in camera etc.

(1) At any time before or during the hearing of proceedings before a court in relation to an offence against this Act, the Judge or Magistrate may, if satisfied that such a course is expedient in order to prevent the disclosure of information of a kind referred to in the definition of associated technology in subsection 4(1) of the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987: (a) order that some or all of the members of the public shall be excluded during the whole or a part of the proceedings; (b) order that no report of the whole or a specified part of the proceedings shall be published; and (c) make orders, and give directions, prohibiting or restricting access, either before, during or after the proceedings, to any affidavit, exhibit, information or other document used in the proceedings that is on a file in the court or in the records of the court. (2) A person who contravenes an order made, or direction given, under subsection (1) commits an offence against that subsection punishable, upon conviction, by: (a) if the offender is a natural person—imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units, or both; or (b) if the offender is a body corporate—a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units. (3) Upon the termination of proceedings before a court in relation to an offence against this Act, any document containing information of a kind referred to in the definition of associated technology in subsection 4(1) of the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987 that would otherwise form part of the records of the court shall, as soon as practicable after the termination of those proceedings, be delivered into the possession and control of the Minister. (4) A reference in this section to proceedings before a court shall be read as including a reference to committal proceedings in relation to an indictable offence. (5) For the purposes of this section, proceedings shall not be taken to have terminated until: (a) in the case of proceedings other than committal proceedings in relation to an indictable offence ‑ the time for bringing an appeal arising from those proceedings has expired or an appeal arising from those proceedings has been brought and has been determined; or (b) in the case of committal proceedings in relation to an indictable offence ‑ the trial in relation to the offence has been determined and the time for bringing an appeal arising from those proceedings has expired or an appeal arising from those proceedings has been brought and has been determined.