Federal Court Rules 2011

A party may inspect any document in the proceeding except:

a document for which a claim of privilege has been made:

but not decided by the Court; or

that the Court has decided is privileged; or

a document that the Court has ordered be confidential.

A person who is not a party may, after the earlier of the first directions hearing and the hearing, inspect the following documents in a proceeding in the proper Registry:

an originating application or cross‑claim;

a pleading or particulars of a pleading or similar document;

an interlocutory application;

in a proceeding to which Division 34.7 applies:

an affidavit accompanying an application, or an amended application, under section 61 of the Native Title Act 1993; or

an extract from the Register of Native Title Claims received by the Court from the Native Title Registrar.

Native Title Registrar and Register of Native Title Claims are defined in the Dictionary.

A person who is not a party may inspect the following documents in a proceeding in the proper Registry:

a notice of address for service;

a statement of agreed facts or an agreed statement of facts;

a judgment or an order of the Court;

a notice of appeal, notice of contention or notice of cross‑appeal;

a notice of discontinuance;

a notice of change of lawyer or notice of ceasing to act;

a consent to act as trustee or consent to act as liquidator;

reasons for judgment;

a transcript of a hearing heard in open Court.

However, a person who is not a party is not entitled to inspect a document that the Court has ordered:

be confidential; or

is forbidden from, or restricted from publication to, the person or a class of persons of which the person is a member.

For the prohibition of publication of evidence or of the name of a party or witness, see sections 37AF and 37AI of the Act.

Subject to subrule (3), a person may apply to a Registrar for leave to inspect a document that the person is not otherwise entitled to inspect.

A person may be given a copy of a document, except a copy of the transcript in the proceeding, if the person:

is entitled to inspect the document; and

has paid the prescribed fee.

For the prescribed fee, see the Federal Court and Federal Circuit and Family Court Regulations 2012.

If there is no order that a transcript is confidential, a person may, on payment of the applicable charge, obtain a copy of the transcript of a proceeding from the Court’s transcript provider.

For proceedings under the Trans‑Tasman Proceedings Act, see also rule 34.70.