Queensland Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE ACT 1977 - SECT 134A

134A Production of documents by agencies in relation to civil proceedings

(1) A person who is a party to a civil proceeding may make written application to the principal officer of an agency to produce for inspection a document that—

(a) is in the possession of, or under the power of, the agency; and

(b) is relevant to an issue in the proceeding;

if the agency, the principal officer, or a member, officer or employee of the agency, could be ordered, on the application of the person, to produce the document in the proceeding.

(2) The principal officer may permit the person, on payment of the prescribed fee, to inspect the document, and take a copy of, or an extract from, the document, at a time and place nominated by the principal officer.

(3) If the principal officer permits the person to inspect and take a copy of, or an extract from, the document, the principal officer, and all persons acting on behalf of the principal officer, are entitled to the same protection as they would have had if the acts concerned had been carried out in obedience to a process of the Supreme Court.

(4) The principal officer is not required to notify another party to the proceeding of—

(a) the making of the application; or

(b) any action taken in relation to the application.

(4A) The principal officer may delegate his or her powers under this section to an officer or employee of the principal officer’s agency.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) , this section does not affect—

(a) the operation of any law relating to the disclosure or nondisclosure of information; or

(b) the operation of another law that authorises the inspection or copying of a document otherwise than as provided in this section; or

(c) the power of a court to order the inspection or production of a document.

(6) If a document mentioned in subsection (1) is a document that contains information to which the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 , section 142 (1) applies, the document is, for the purposes of section 143 of that Act, information that is required or permitted to be given under this Act.

(7) In this section—

"agency" means—

(a) a department; or

(b) a public authority, other than a prescribed entity, within the meaning of the Right to Information Act 2009 , section 16 ; or

(c) a person or body declared by regulation to be an agency;

but does not include a person or body declared by regulation not to be an agency.

"principal officer" means—

(a) in relation to a department—the chief executive of the department; or

(b) in relation to an agency for which a regulation declares an officer to be the principal officer—the holder of the office; or

(c) in relation to another agency—

(i) if it is an incorporated body that has no members—the person who manages the body’s affairs; or

(ii) if it is a body (whether or not incorporated) that is constituted by 1 person—the person; or

(iii) if it is a body (whether or not incorporated) that is constituted by 2 or more persons—the person who is entitled to preside at a meeting of the body at which the person is present.