A high profile man charged with rape is expected to find out whether his identity will remain protected from the public as a crucial court hearing gets underway.
Lawyers for the man are due to appear at Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday amid an ongoing application to keep his name anonymised.
They are seeking an order that a non publication order, imposed last week in the same court, be continued.
Media companies, including News Corp Australia, have opposed this order.
The man is facing two charges of rape which police allege stem from an incident in Toowoomba in October 2021.
Due to laws in Queensland which initially prevented the identification of people charged with prescribed sexual offences, including rape, the man’s identity could not be revealed.
That protection was revoked earlier this month after the Queensland state government changed parts of the legislation.
However, before the changes took effect, the man’s lawyers successfully applied to the Supreme Court for a non-publication order allowing their client to remain protected.
Following a lengthy hearing at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on October 13, the order was revoked by Magistrate Clare Kelly.
She ruled there was no justification to keep the order in place and the evidence tendered in support of the man did not establish the order was necessary to protect his safety.
The man’s lawyers sought a stay of the order until an appeal was lodged in the Supreme Court on October 17.
The order has been continued until further submissions are heard today.
More to come.