Managing the Questioning of Vulnerable Witnesses

This video demonstrates how judicial officers can manage the questioning of vulnerable witnesses, both when an intermediary is present and when an intermediary is not present.

On 19 December 2023 this video was edited to remove references to out-of-court meetings between a judicial officer and the complainant prior to the Special Hearing.

This practice had been disapproved by the Court of Appeal in Alec (a pseudonym) v The King [2023] VSCA 208 and DPP v Smith [2023] VSCA 293, but on appeal, in DPP v Smith [2024] HCA 32, by majority the High Court found the meeting was authorised under s 389E(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1958 (Vic) and did not give rise to any fundamental irregularity in the trial process, such as to constitute a serious departure from accepted trial processes.

Page last updated 23/10/2025

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Page last updated 23/10/2025

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