Vic coroner suppresses key Batty report

A Victorian coroner has suppressed a report from the Child Commissioner into Luke Batty's death, saying making it public may impede future investigations.

State Coroner Judge Ian Gray said the report was "clearly relevant" to the inquest into Luke's murder, but preserving the role of the Commission for Children and Young People outweighed all other interests.

Greg Anderson killed his 11-year-old son Luke with a cricket bat and knife on February 12 as they played together in the nets at the Tyabb oval after cricket training.

Rachel Doyle SC, for Luke's mother Rosie Batty, and media outlets had argued the report be an open document in the interest of public confidence in the commission.

Ms Doyle said suppressing the report, compiled at the request of Child Commissioner Bernie Geary, risked creating a sense of disquiet among the community.

But Judge Gray agreed with submissions from the commission and the Department of Human Services that to publicise the document could harm the function of the commission.

DHS lawyers told the Victorian Coroner's Court on Wednesday that child protection workers could hesitate to co-operate with future investigations if they feared facing public scrutiny.

Judge Gray acknowledged the public interest in enhancing safety and system improvements within government institutions such as the DHS and police.

"There clearly are truly compelling public interests here," he said.

But he said preserving the investigative power of the commission took precedent.

"The commission clearly had an extremely important public function," Judge Gray said.

"I agree I should do nothing to impede the work of the commission."

Judge Gray said he would take the report into consideration when delivering his findings.

The inquest continues.