A court has heard that the man charged over the Churchill-Jeeralang bushfire in eastern Victoria may need to be protected from other prisoners.

Assistant Police Commissioner Dannye Maloney says the man has been moved to Melbourne due to security concerns.

"People are pointing fingers, people are jumping to conclusions, rumours and innuendos are ebbing... we do not need that," he said.

"Let Victoria Police do its role, we identified this person, we are prosecuting this person on behalf of the community."

The man, who can not be named, has been charged with one count of arson causing death, one count of deliberately lighting a bushfire, and one count of possessing child pornography.

Twenty-one people are confirmed to have died in the bushfire on Saturday.

The man did not attend the brief hearing at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court this afternoon.

Magistrate Clive Allsop ordered that he undergo a psychiatric assessment.

There was no application for bail, and the man will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.