The plaintiff's ex parte application to extend the validity of an unserved writ for a further six months was granted, together with confidentiality orders over supporting affidavits and submissions. The court applied the 'good reason' test under r 5.12(2) of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 (Vic), adopting the principles summarised in Howard v Power [2013] VSC 198. Good reason was established by a combination of factors: the application was made promptly before expiry; the defendants were aware of the proceeding and consented (reserving all rights); ongoing preparatory work would yield a more settled statement of claim promoting efficiency; cooperative pre-service engagement was narrowing issues; and the extension preserved group members' limitation periods under r 33ZE. Confidentiality orders were justified on the basis that the documents contained information not publicly available, that confidentiality encouraged full and frank disclosure to the court, that no prejudice to defendants arose, and that the limited public interest in pre-service preparatory material did not outweigh the order sought.
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