Sportsbet Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales (No. 14)

In this case, Sportsbet Pty Ltd sought to prevent the publication of certain sensitive commercial information that was revealed in the proceedings. The respondents, State of New South Wales, Racing New South Wales, and Harness Racing New South Wales, applied for further orders pursuant to s 50 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) in relation to parts of the transcript containing the cross-examination of Mr Tyshing and certain other documents. These materials revealed sensitive commercial information which would be useful for other participants to know in the national wagering market. The Court needed to determine whether the information should remain confidential to prevent prejudice to the orderly conduct of commerce.

The Court found that the release of such information would be prejudicial to the orderly conduct of commerce due to the trade rivalry between the various market participants. The Court applied reasoning from Betfair Pty Limited v Racing New South Wales (No. 5) [2009] FCA 1011, where it was held that the revelation of documents throwing light on the strategic decisions of Betfair to Racing New South Wales would lead to their inadvertent disclosure to the TAB Limited, which stood effectively in the position of a trade rival to Betfair. The Court proposed to accede to the orders proposed by the respondents, but to indicate that on 15 April 2010 it would revoke all confidentiality orders made thus far and put in place a new regime providing confidentiality for financial materials.

The Court then turned to the application made by the TAB parties, who sought similar protection for their commercially sensitive materials. The Court found no reason to distinguish the materials in the TAB parties' applications from the situation it had just discussed and decided to make the orders sought by the TAB parties. The Court also decided to extend the interim orders which had been made thus far. The orders of the Court were to prevent the publication of the specified parts of the document and to extend the existing confidentiality orders to 15 April 2010. The Court also set a deadline for the parties to bring in short minutes of order and listed the matter for further directions on the issue of confidentiality.

In conclusion, the Court found that the sensitive commercial information revealed in the proceedings should remain confidential to prevent prejudice to the orderly conduct of commerce due to the trade rivalry between the various market participants. The Court granted confidentiality orders for the specified parts of the document and extended the existing confidentiality orders to 15 April 2010. The Court also set a deadline for the parties to bring in short minutes of order and listed the matter for further directions on the issue of confidentiality.