27.3. Publication and file access: Legal exceptions

There are 3 specific legal exceptions to the rule that all documents on file are publicly available after registration or publication.

Documents we cannot make publicly available are:

• Documents covered by legal professional privilege: These are documents that would be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the basis of legal professional privilege (s 60(2)(a)). This includes legal advice to the Registrar about proceedings in which the Registrar is involved – e.g. legal advice about an appeal against a decision by the Registrar.
  
  

• Documents subject to a court order that prohibits disclosure: These are documents covered by a court or tribunal order of confidentiality (s 60(2)(b)).
  ​​​​​​​

• Confidential documents that were filed in response to a notice to produce: This applies to documents filed under s 127(1)(c) (i.e. a notice from the Registrar requiring the filing of a particular document), if the Registrar is satisfied they are confidential or contain confidential information (s 60(2)(c)). Factors to consider are:
  • whether the owner of the document asserted that it contained confidential material
  • whether that material really is confidential
  • whether the document contains information that can be assumed to be confidential – e.g. medical records, commercial sales data.