ABSTRACT
This chapter examines government invocation of state secrecy in legislation aimed at organised crime in Australia. The High Court of Australia has recently confirmed that procedural fairness - and specifically the right of parties to be informed of the case and material brought against them,in curial processes is an essential characteristic of an Australian court. It also considered the constitutionality of Queensland's control order legislation, the Criminal Organisation Act 2009 and specifically the procedure for determining whether information was criminal intelligence and the regime established for submitting criminal intelligence in substantive hearings. The Victorian provisions reflect the European standard for compatibility of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commonwealth's anti-terrorism control order provisions provide for the non-disclosure of material to the respondent of information to be protected by public interest immunity. The chapter concluded with the limitations of both approaches, particularly their failure to articulate the balancing test that the judges are asked to undertake at either level.
