Adams and Torino & Anor

In the matter of *Adams and Torino & Anor*, heard before Tree J, the court considered objections raised by the mother to three subpoenas issued by the Independent Children's Lawyer (ICL). The dispute concerned parenting orders for two of the mother's three children, with allegations that one of these children had sexually abused a third child who was not directly a party to the proceedings. The mother objected to the ICL inspecting and copying documents sought by the subpoenas, arguing that the material was not sufficiently relevant and, in part, related to the child not directly involved in the proceedings.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the documents sought by the ICL's subpoenas were sufficiently relevant to the parenting proceedings, and whether the mother's concerns about the potential misuse or leakage of subpoenaed documents justified preventing the ICL from inspecting and copying them. The mother contended that the ICL lacked a reasonable belief in the relevance of the material, particularly concerning the child not directly subject to the parenting orders.

Tree J determined that the material sought by each of the three subpoenas was likely to be sufficiently relevant to the proceedings. The court reasoned that even if the documents related to a child not directly involved, their relevance to the care of the other children, especially in light of allegations of sexual abuse, could not be discounted. The court also noted that any departmental intervention concerning the child not directly involved would be a relevant consideration. Regarding the mother's concerns about document leakage, the court affirmed the well-established principle of implied undertakings that protect documents obtained through discovery or subpoena, finding no sufficient risk of misuse to warrant preventing the ICL from copying the documents.

Consequently, the court granted the ICL leave to inspect and copy the documents produced in response to the subpoenas served on the Director-General of the Department of Education, the Director-General of the Department of Communities and Child Safety, and the Commissioner of Police Queensland. The matter was adjourned for further mention.