Commissioner for Fair Trading v Jonval Builders Pty Limited

The Commissioner for Fair Trading sought to set aside subpoenas and a notice to produce in the context of an investigation into Jonval Builders Pty Limited. The company argued that the subpoenas were oppressive and the notice to produce was improperly seeking documents that were subject to legal professional privilege. The matter was heard in the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The legal issues before the Tribunal involved whether the subpoenas and notice to produce had a legitimate forensic purpose and whether the company had waived its privilege over the documents. The Tribunal examined the relevance of the documents to the investigation and whether the company had taken steps to waive its privilege.

The Tribunal held that the subpoenas and notice to produce had a legitimate forensic purpose and that the company had not waived its privilege over the documents. The Tribunal found that the documents were relevant to the investigation and that the company had not acted in a way that would have led a reasonable person to believe that the privilege was waived. The Tribunal also noted that the company had not sought to redact any part of the documents that were not privileged. The Tribunal held that the subpoenas and notice to produce should not be set aside.

The Tribunal found in favour of the Commissioner for Fair Trading and dismissed the application to set aside the subpoenas and notice to produce. The Tribunal held that the documents sought were relevant to the investigation and that the company had not waived its privilege over the documents. The Tribunal did not make any orders for costs.