Bernard Collaery’s lawyers argue secret ‘court-only’ evidence should be banned in national security cases

Bernard Collaery’s legal team have said that the NSI Act requires significant reform in order to accommodate whistleblowers. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Bernard Collaery’s lawyers say courts should be banned from hearing secret evidence about crucial aspects of a case which are hidden from an accused under strict national security laws.

Collaery’s legal team gave evidence on Thursday to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Grant Donaldson, about their experience in dealing with the secrecy restrictions contained in the National Security Information (NSI) Act, which is designed to safeguard sensitive information during court proceedings.