Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (FAMILY LAW) RULES 2021 - RULE 6.18

  (1)   A party (the first party ) may seek an order that:

  (a)   another party comply with a request for a list of documents in accordance with rule   6.09; or

  (b)   another party provide an affidavit of documents; or

  (c)   another party disclose a specified document, or class of documents, by providing a copy of the document, or each document in the class; or

  (d)   another party produce a document for inspection; or

  (e)   another party file an affidavit stating:

  (i)   that a specified document, or class of documents, does not exist or has never existed; or

  (ii)   the circumstances in which a specified document or class of documents ceased to exist or passed out of the possession or control of that party; or

  (f)   the first party be partly or fully relieved of the duty of disclosure.

  (2)   A party making an application under subrule (1) must satisfy the court that the order is appropriate in the interests of the administration of justice.

  (3)   The court may make an order of a kind referred to in subrule (1) on its own initiative if it is satisfied that the order is appropriate in the interests of the administration of justice.

  (4)   In making an order under subrule   (1) or (3), the court may consider:

  (a)   whether the disclosure sought is relevant to an issue in dispute; and

  (b)   the relative importance of the issue to which the document or class of documents relates; and

  (c)   the likely time, cost and inconvenience involved in disclosing a document or class of documents, taking into account the amount of the property, or complexity of the corporate, trust or partnership interests (if any), involved in the proceeding; and

  (d)   the likely effect on the outcome of the proceeding of disclosing, or not disclosing, the document or class of documents.

  (5)   If the disclosure of a document is necessary for the purpose of resolving a proceeding at a dispute resolution event, a party (the requesting party ) may, on the first court date, seek an order that another party:

  (a)   provide a copy of the document to the requesting party; or

  (b)   produce the document to the requesting party for inspection and copying.

  (6)   The court may make an order under subrule (5) only in exceptional circumstances.

  (7)   The court may inspect a document to decide:

  (a)   an application made under this rule; or

  (b)   whether to make an order under subrule (3).