By Rex Martinich in Brisbane

THE identity of a high-profile man accused of rape will remain secret after he was granted a new interim order despite his solicitors failing to comply with previous court directions.

The man, who remains on bail, faces two counts of raping a woman at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, in October 2021.

Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Thursday heard an application for an interim order preventing media outlets identifying him after Queensland changed its laws on Tuesday to no longer suppress the names of people charged with sexual offences before being committed for trial.

Magistrate Kay Philipson criticised the man’s legal team for seeking a similar order in the Supreme Court last week without telling her, for not following a direction to provide notice for the new application and not providing supporting material in a timely manner.

“There was no courtesy… we’re a very busy court here and it’s very hard to fit these matters in,” she said.

Queensland’s new laws did not require Ms Philipson to consider the merits of granting a permanent non-publication order on the man’s name, but his solicitor Rowan King told the court his client’s mental health was at risk if he was named by the media.

Mr King submitted a letter from the man’s psychologist who had been seeing him monthly via telehealth.

“Safety (of the defendant) includes psychological safety including the risk of harm by suicide or other self-harm through a worsening psychiatric condition,” Mr King said.

Ms Philipson said there was nothing in the letter to support those claims.

“This is nothing more than a letter of comfort, there’s nothing on how the psychologist arrived at that diagnosis nor what effects of being identified will be and how they are going to impact on him,” she said.

Mr King said he had hoped to submit a more substantive report on his client’s health but it had not been ready on time.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said she opposed granting the interim order.

“The psychologist’s email contains little evidence that can be relied upon by Your Honour,” Ms Friedewald said.

She told the court the alleged victim supported the media being able to name the accused.

Barrister Jessica Goldie, who represented several media companies including the Nine TV network, “The Sydney Morning Herald” and “The Australian” and “Courier-Mail” newspapers, also opposed granting the order for the reasons put forward by Ms Friedewald.

Ms Phillipson said she needed to weigh up the public interest and principle of open justice versus any special vulnerabilities of the alleged victim and defendant as well as the potential to prejudice any future trial.

“These matters in my view need proper consideration in a final application and there was an inability to have made such an application before the new legislation came in,” Ms Philipson said.

Ms Philipson granted an interim non-publication order until an application on a permanent order could be heard on October 13.