For the first time in Australian legal history, a major trial is to be televised.

Dr Jayant Patel will face manslaughter charges in a Brisbane court over his time as a surgeon in Bundaberg.

Four hours north of the Queensland capital, his former patients and anyone who can squeeze into the Bundaberg courthouse will be able to watch a live telecast of the trial.

Ian Fleming, the president of a patient support group that has spent almost five years fighting to have Dr Patel stand trial, has welcomed the initiative.

"I and a lot of others will be going to the televised proceedings and seeing for ourselves what happens in court," Mr Fleming said.

"It certainly helps a lot of local people to witness the proceedings that wouldn't be able to go to Brisbane. I would have preferred to be able to go to Brisbane but the Government has refused to fund us for that."

In the past, the Queensland Government has paid for members of the patient support group to attend proceedings in Brisbane.

One of those events was a commission of inquiry into Dr Patel's tenure at the Bundaberg Base Hospital.

Tony Morris QC, who headed the first of two inquiries but was ultimately stood down over a perceived bias, says the decision to beam the trial into the Bundaberg court house is "magnificent".

"Specific to the Patel case, it had such an impact on the people of Bundaberg that I think it's hugely important that those people who were affected have the opportunity to see it without having to go to the expense and inconvenience of travelling to Brisbane," Mr Morris said.

In a general sense, Mr Morris says he supports opening the courts to the public and making proceedings accessible.

He says that could help people better understand the justice system, although he does have some reservations.

"I certainly hope we don't end up with the situation they have in the United States where criminal trials become media frenzies and you have the lawyers standing on the steps of the courthouse explaining what their tactics and strategies are and that sort of nonsense," he said.

"I see it very much as an educational step and an opportunity to give people an insight into what happens in a courtroom, not as an opportunity to play out the issues in the trial in a public forum."

The head of the Australian Councils of Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, says there are widespread concerns about televised trials.

"There's been a wide-ranging debate in Australia for at least a decade about televising criminal trials," Mr O'Gorman said.

"Particularly the view of criminal defence lawyers in relation to that debate is that television criminal trials, particularly where the lead-up to the trial has been attended by significant and negative publicity, really magnifies the problem.

"On the other part of the debate, there are some, including the Chief Justice of Western Australia, who do argue for the televising of criminal trials, but his view is by no means the majority one."

Given the amount of public interest in the Patel case, the proceedings will also be shown in a second room in Brisbane's courthouse to accommodate a high number of onlookers, and there will also be a separate media room.

The trial is expected to run for three months and more than 150 witnesses will take the stand.