Australian Crime Commission v Stoddart & Anor [2011] HCATrans 44

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal concerning the Australian Crime Commission's (ACC) attempt to obtain information from Mr. Stoddart and Mr. Stoddart. The core of the dispute revolved around the ACC's powers to compel the production of documents and information under the *Australian Crime Commission Act 2002* (Cth) and the extent to which such compulsion could be resisted on grounds of privilege or confidentiality.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the ACC, in exercising its powers under section 29 of the *Australian Crime Commission Act 2002* (Cth) to require a person to produce documents, was bound by the common law rules relating to legal professional privilege and other forms of confidentiality. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the statutory language of section 29 permitted the ACC to override these established legal protections.

The High Court, in a unanimous decision, held that the ACC's powers under section 29 of the Act did not override the common law principles of legal professional privilege. The Court reasoned that for such a significant abrogation of a fundamental common law right to occur, the legislature would need to express that intention with far greater clarity and specificity than was present in the *Australian Crime Commission Act 2002* (Cth). The Court found that the statutory language did not demonstrate a clear intention to abrogate legal professional privilege, and therefore, the privilege remained a valid ground for resisting the ACC's demand for production of documents. The appeal was dismissed.