Department of Human Services and Brigham & Anor

In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Cohen J considered a dispute between the Director-General of the Department of Human Services and two other parties, the mother and the Independent Children's Lawyer, concerning the production of documents. The Director-General sought to resist the production of certain original documents, specifically those comprised in Exhibit "FCM1" (excluding Exhibit "X"), in response to orders and subpoenas issued by a Judicial Registrar and the parties.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the Director-General was obliged to produce the original documents from Exhibit "FCM1" (other than Exhibit "X") in compliance with the existing court orders and subpoenas, or if the court had discretion to limit production to copies. A further issue concerned the conditions under which Exhibit "X" itself should be produced and inspected.

Cohen J reasoned that the Director-General was not required to produce the originals of the documents in Exhibit "FCM1" other than Exhibit "X". The court made declarations to this effect, and orders were made for the return of these documents to the Director-General, with restrictions on their inspection. However, the court ordered that Exhibit "X" was to be produced to a deputy registrar at a date and time to be arranged, and the Director-General was ordered to produce its original. The court also made specific orders regarding the inspection of Exhibit "X", limiting it to the Director-General or her agent unless a further court order was made, with exceptions if no appeal was lodged and the time for appeal expired. Costs were reserved.