Hitchcock v State of Queensland (Office of Industrial Relations)

The case of Hitchcock v State of Queensland (Office of Industrial Relations) involved an application for disclosure of certain documents by the Applicant against the State of Queensland, specifically the Office of Industrial Relations. The Applicant sought the disclosure of specific documents to support their case, which the Respondent objected to, claiming that some of the documents were subject to legal professional privilege. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The central legal issues revolved around whether the legal professional privilege had been established for the contested documents and, if so, whether it had been waived by any subsequent actions.

The Court examined the nature of the documents in question and the circumstances surrounding their creation and use. The Applicant argued that the documents were not privileged, or if they were, that privilege had been waived. The Respondent contended that the documents were indeed privileged and had not been waived. After thorough consideration, the Court found that while the Applicant had established the existence of legal professional privilege for some of the documents, there was no evidence to suggest that privilege had been waived. Consequently, the Court dismissed the Applicant's application for disclosure of these privileged documents.

However, the Court determined that other documents, specifically briefing notes PM-06 and PM-07, did not fall under the protection of legal professional privilege. The Court concluded that these documents were not subject to privilege and ordered their disclosure to the Applicant. The Court directed that these unredacted documents be provided by a specified date, 4pm on 11 November 2024. The Court also dismissed the Applicant's application for disclosure of the legal advice referred to in paragraph 24 of Mr Peter McKay’s affidavit.