In civil penalty proceedings under the Corporations Act, a defendant cannot refuse to file any defence but is entitled to dispensation from the requirements of UCPR rr 14.14 and 15.1 insofar as compliance with those rules may directly or indirectly assist the plaintiff in establishing its case for penalties. The privilege is engaged where there is a likelihood or non-fanciful risk that pleading facts and particulars of statutory defences (such as the business judgment rule, reliance on advice, and honesty defences) may overlap with the plaintiff's case. A defendant may be required to plead the intention to invoke statutory defences by reference to matters already alleged in the plaintiff's pleading, with liberty to amend after the plaintiff closes its case.
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